The Secrets of the Olympic Peninsula
by megster1992
Summary: "Everybody had secrets; my friends, my parents, and even myself." AU. Bella/Leah
1. Chapter 1

**The Twilight Saga is the rightful property of Stephenie Meyer; I only take credit for my own ideas.**

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><p><strong>Chapter One<strong>

"Bella, can you help me chop the onions?" My mother asked, smiling as she placed two onions in front of me. "I hate doing it, it makes me cry."

"I think it makes everybody cry, Mom," I said with a chuckle before nodding. "But, I'll do it."

Turning towards the sink to grab a suitable knife, I caught my reflection in one of the pans that was drying on the left. Biting my lip, I looked away and opened the silverware drawer instead, not wanting to be reminded that I wasn't like my parents.

Once I had the knife in hand, I turned back towards the chopping board and started to cut at the onions while Mom stirred the noodles in the pot that was on the stove, tucking a strand of her auburn colored hair behind her ears, although she didn't need to. Her hair was cut short, chopped off a little below the ears, so she didn't have to worry about her hair getting in her face.

Unlike me.

My dark brown hair, which I got from my father, as he had the darkest shade of brown I had ever seen, hung down past my shoulders and to the small of my back. My long hair was a burden, and, although I get regular haircuts, it grew too fast for my liking.

"NO!" a voice shouted from the other room followed by an onslaught of obscenities, my mom sighing as she put down the wooden spoon on the counter.

"I'll be back," she whispered to me as she headed into the living room. "Chuck! How many times have I told you not to cuss at your video games?"

"But Mom, I—"

"But nothing. If it's angering you that much, take a break. Why don't you come into the kitchen and help your sister and I make chili?"

"Ugh, fine," I heard him mutter under his breath just as Mom walked back in, a triumphant smile on her face.

"There, much better," she said out loud as she started to cut the meat that was beginning to cook on the stove.

Noticing that I had diced as much as I could out of the first onion, I moved to the second one, smiling as my brother walked into the room. For a thirteen year old, he was tall; taller than me, even. He stood at about five foot five, whereas I was a measly five foot two. It was embarrassing, to be truthful, that my brother, who was _five years _younger than me, was already taller than me, and it looked like he wasn't showing any signs of stopping.

He looked around the kitchen, trying to look for something to do, before he shrugged. "What is there left to do?"

Mom stopped what she was doing and pursed her lips as she looked around. "Huh. I guess there isn't anything for you to do."

Resisting the urge to roll my eyes, I used the knife to bunch up all of the pieces of onion before I walked over to the pan that contained the meat, throwing them in there as grease started to form on the bottom.

My mom was scatter-brained, a fact about her that I loved. She'd ask you to do something but realize there wasn't anything for you _to _do, or she'd ask you to do something that had already been done.

"That's okay, Mom. I'm sure we can use the giant to our advantage," I said, sending my brother a wink.

"Oh, yes. Chuck, why don't you grab the sauce out of the cabinet? I'm not letting you out of my sight today," she said, eyeing her son as she turned back to the noodles.

Chuck nodded just as we heard the front door open, followed by the sound of a leash being clipped off. "Cool, dad's home."

"Yeah, I'm home," Dad said as he walked into the kitchen, shrugging out of his "Chief of Police" jacket, placing it on the back of one of the chairs, the one he usually sat at. "Chief just wanted to patrol the area. Didn't you, Chief?" he asked as our German Shepherd, Chief as Dad named him, walked into the kitchen, letting out a bark.

It was weird that Dad named his police dog Chief, especially since people at the station called _him_ Chief.

Chief was a good dog, though. When the leash was off, as well as his vest, he acted like a regular dog, thinking that he can fit into your lap and covering your shoes in drool, but he knew that as soon as his leash was on, it was time for business.

"Charlie, do you think you can watch Chuck? I asked him to help me with the chili, because he was cussing at that violent video game he loves so much, but there isn't anything left for him to do."

"Yeah, Dad, we could shoot some hoops?" Chuck suggested with a shrug.

Dad did a half-grimace before shaking his head. "Sorry, son. Maybe another time. Chief had me running almost everywhere, so I got myself a workout."

Chuck pursed his lips. "Oh, well, that's okay," he said with a sigh before he sidled passed Dad, walking back into the living room and flipping the television to, what sounded like, the mixed martial arts he watched a lot.

When he wasn't watching Gilmore Girls with Mom, of course.

"So, Bella, any plans for you birthday tomorrow?" Dad asked as he placed his hands on the back of the chair, leaning against it as he raised his eyebrow at me.

I shrugged. "Not really. It's just another birthday."

"Not just another birthday, sweetie," Mom said with a chuckle. "It's your eighteenth birthday."

"Have you thought about getting a job?"

_Oh, God. Dad's at it again. _"I have, yeah. Mike said he was going to ask his mom if there was room for a part-time employee. There isn't much work for teenagers, so let's hope she says yes."

Dad nodded with a slight "hmm". "Well, if that doesn't work out, I'm sure I can ask some of the guys down in the station if they'd like someone to do their paperwork."

Either way, I wouldn't be doing much. The police in Forks almost always had a slow day at the office, with the exception of the tourist coming in that wasn't used to the near constant cover of clouds and rain, crashing into a tree when the roads grew slick.

Suddenly, I felt a vibration in my back pocket. Sliding my hand towards my butt, I grabbed my phone and looked at it, noticing that I had a new message. When I flipped my phone open and read the message, a smile grew on my lips.

_Yo, Bells. It's M. J, T, L, A, E n me r the beach. Wanna come?_

Rolling my eyes at my friend's text speak, I composed a reply. _I was thinking of heading to La Push anyway. See you there._

"Who was that?" Dad asked.

"It was Mike. He's at First Beach with everybody, and he asked if I wanted to join them."

"I like that boy," Mom said as she turned around, flashing a smile. "He's cute. You should date him, Bella."

Dad nodded. "You're eighteen and you haven't had a boyfriend. I'm not complaining, because no girl should date before they're eighteen, but now that you're an adult you should consider doing things to make yourself happy."

"Well, yeah, Mike is cute and all," _at least, that's what I gathered from Jessica, _"but he's dating Jessica right now. I doubt he'd just drop her if I asked him out."

"Oh, I don't know, honey," Mom chuckled. "I think he has a soft spot for you."

That was true. Almost all of the boys at Forks had asked me out my sophomore year, but, using the excuse that my father didn't want me to date, I declined. It was nice that I could still be friends with some of my admirers, though I think that they were just waiting for the time when I'd change my mind.

"Uh-huh," I said, looking down to the floor as I shifted, scratching my wrist uncomfortably. "Well, if it's okay with you, I'm going to head over to Jake's."

As I turned on my heel, I heard Dad clear his throat. Sighing, I turned around to face him, knowing what he'd say. "When is he going to be done with your truck?"

"Not long, Dad," I said as I ran my hand through my hair. "I mean, I think he's got another weeks work to do on it, honestly."

"Mm," he said, crossing his arms and twisting his mouth to the side, his mustache twisting as well. "I just don't like seeing you use that…machine as your mode of transportation. They aren't called donor cycles for no reason, you know."

"Yeah, Dad, I know," I said before I walked out of the house, waving to my parents before I closed the door. Heading towards the garage, I flicked the light on and smiled at the black bike that sat in there.

It was a dual-sport motorcycle, one that looked like it was made more for the dirt than the street, with pink lined designs on the sides. The part in the front that connected to the wheel was gold instead of the traditional silver, and, although there was dirt caked on the wheels, it was in good condition.

"Bella, do you think you can take me to Brady's house?" I heard Chuck ask before I saw him, turning around to face him with a smirk.

"And what do you plan on doing at Brady's?"

"Well, he just got the new Halo game and he wanted me and Collin to join him when he played it for the first time," he said before scratching the back of his neck. "Don't tell Mom?"

"Of course not," I said as I pressed the button to open the garage door. "You've got to close the garage, though." Grabbing onto my bikes handle bars, I pushed it out of the garage once the door was all the way up, waiting on the street when Chuck came back, the door closing as he ran towards me with two helmets in his hand.

"Dad would kill us if we didn't wear these." He handed me one of the helmets and, after I took it from his hands, he put his own back on.

The drive to La Push was silent, albeit for the sound of my bike's engine, and I dropped him off at Brady's house, which was just a street away from Jake's, before I headed to the familiar red house with a larger red barn to the side. Leaning against the red siding of the barn were two familiar dirt bikes, ones that _weren't_ Jake's, and I laughed to myself as I pushed my bike up to where they were, using the kickstand to keep it from falling.

Taking the helmet off, I shook my hair free, making sure, and hoping, that I didn't get helmet hair, before I heard a scuffle inside of the barn.

"Is that who I think it is?" I heard a familiar voice ask before three rowdy boys all stormed out of the barn door, their white teeth contrasting with their russet skin perfectly. "It is!" came from the younger of the three, his grin widening before he wrapped his arms around me, lifting me in the air and spinning me around. "Bella's back!"

"Urgh," I managed to get out as I tried my hardest to not get sick, as motion sickness and I didn't do all that well. "Yeah, Jake, I'm here," I chuckled as he sat me down. "Did you get buffer since the last week I saw you? I didn't think you could lift me up."

Jake shrugged. "Well, I mean, yeah, I am growing a bit, but I think that's just the hard work I go through by lifting engines and stuff. Look," he said as he lifted his shirt, showing off his developing muscles in his abdomen, "I'm getting a six-pack!"

"More like a keg," the boy next to him teased, slapping his stomach with his palm before he turned to me. "Hey, Bella. How's Charlie doing?"

I shrugged. "I mean, there aren't any crimes in Forks, so you really don't have to worry about him." Turning to look at Jake from the corner of my eye, I smirked as I noticed that the boy I had grown up with was looking some of the childlike roundness in his face and his skinny arms were now an inch thicker. "You might want to be worried about Jake catching up with you, Quil."

Quil scoffed. "Like Jake could get these guns without steroids," he joked, flexing his arm muscles. Quil was the oldest out of the group and surely the biggest. He was seven months older than me and about five inches taller, putting him at five foot seven. Puberty was good to him as he grew up, letting him gain all of the muscles out of the group, and he was now a football player for the Tribal School.

"So you're confirming that you use steroids?" the last boy, Embry, chuckled, almost earning himself a punch in the shoulder from the boy who had previously spoken, but, since he was swift for a boy as tall as he was, he dodged out of the way, ducking behind me. "Save me, Bella," he whispered into my ear as Quil edged closer with a grin on his lips.

"No, no, no," I said, getting out of Quil's way. "I'm not getting in the middle of this."

Jake laughed as he watched Quil chase Embry around the yard. Embry was a track runner, his tall and lithe frame perfect for hurtles, and since he was five foot ten, he was also on the basketball team. "You're never going to catch him, Quil!" Jake shouted.

Glancing at Jake's hair, I noticed that he didn't get it cut like he wanted to. "Skip the barbers this week, Jake?" I asked as I ran my hand through his silky black hair that almost reached the hem of his jeans. "Seriously, I thought guys were supposed to have hair _shorter_ than girls."

"That's why I cut all mine off during the summer," Quil said as him and Embry rejoined us, grinning like idiots, before he ran his hand through his inch long hair. "So much breezier!"

Embry snorted. "You could just find the perfect medium," he said before he flipped his shoulder-length hair behind his shoulders, acting like a model as he looked at his nails in a stuck-up manner.

"Well, Rachel said she was thinking about coming over next weekend and she wanted to try her hand at cutting my hair again."

This resulted in Embry, Quil and I laughing hysterically.

"Dude, I _need_ to bring my camera," Quil said in between fits of laughter.

Maybe I should explain. It was about five years ago when Rachel was actually _living_ with Jake and his dad and, since they were living off of Billy's, their dad's, disability checks, they had to cut corners to save cash.

It was then that Rachel first aspired to be in a salon, which she dropped soon after she learned that cutting hair was _not_ a good career choice for her. Poor Jake had a bald spot for a month.

"Yeah…Quil, you think your mother would want to cut my hair for cheap? I mean, I know she works at the barber in Forks, but…I just don't want Rachel to do it," Jake said, biting his lip. "I know that's horrible but…I can't be bald at seventeen. I just can't."

Embry wrapped his arm around Jake's shoulder. "It's alright man. I mean, we won't make fun of you for it."

Jake rolled his eyes. "Like I believe that."

"You're right," I added, "we would make fun of you."

Quil lifted his arm up, his palm flat as he looked at me with an expectant grin, and, after jumping up in the air, I gave him a high-five.

"Sure, sure," Jake said, rolling his eyes again. "You guys are all just horrible, you know that?"

"But you love us," I said, leaning in to him as I flashed him a grin.

"Some more than others," Quil fake-coughed.

Biting my lip, I leaned away from Jake realizing that this might give him the hint that I was interested. A year ago Jake had asked me to come over, hoping that I, along with Embry and Quil, would play the Smash Brothers game he had on the GameCube, only to find out that Embry and Quil weren't there. He then told me that he had a crush on me, and had one for the past year and a half, before he asked me out on a date. I said no.

It wasn't that Jake was ugly, or that he wasn't nice, because he so was, it was just…I thought it would be weird if I dated my dad's best friend's son.

At least, that's what I told him.

I couldn't tell him the real reason. I just…couldn't.

"So, what brings you here, Bells?" Quil asked, breaking the awkward silence as he clapped his hands together. "Looking to get your ass kicked on Smash Brothers?"

I chuckled. "No, actually. Mike asked me if I wanted to go down to the beach with him and then Dad wondered about the truck…"

"Because he doesn't like you riding that bike," Embry finished, nodding. "I don't blame him. The last time we hit the trails you had to go to Dr. Gerandy to get six stitches."

"The clumsiest girl I've ever known," Quil added under his breath, shaking his head.

"Well, it'll probably take a week and a half," Jake answered, ignoring the boys' jibes before he turned to me. "And I could be down for the beach."

Quil nodded. "Same here. So long as Paul Lahote ain't there."

"He giving you crap again?" I asked as we got on our bikes, Jake running into the barn to get his.

Paul Lahote was the bully on the reservation. I thought it was wrong, especially since he was a nineteen year old man picking on high school kids. I think he did it to make himself feel better, because most of his friends moved on to college whereas his temper had gotten in the way of his education and no college accepted him.

Embry shrugged. "A little bit. He's just walking around the beach muttering to himself. You know Sam Uley?" I nodded, because I did. "He told him to fuck off the last time he messed with us."

"Oh yeah, Sam's another character. He keeps looking at me funny," Quil said, contorting his face into one of disgust. "I don't like it. It makes me feel…weird."

"He looks at me like that too. It's like…I don't know…like he's worried about us? But we aren't even his friends so I have no idea why he looks at us like that," Embry shrugged.

"You know what Dad says," Jake said as he walked out of the barn with his dirt bike. _"Sam's a good kid, Jake. He's just looking out for everybody,"_ he said in his best attempt at his father's voice. "I think Sam has everyone wrapped around his finger. They gave Rebecca crap for moving to Hawaii instead of going to college yet when Sam didn't go to college, they didn't worry."

"Probably because Sam had to take care of his mom," Quil offered with a shrug. "So, who's ready to go to First Beach?"

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><p><strong>AN: And that is the first chapter of The Secrets of the Olympic Peninsula. Special thanks to, let's see if I can get this right, **_hankthefluuphiwaffle**, **_**for creating Chuck. **

**There are some things I need to talk about. First, regarding Chuck. His face, the one I'm using which you can find on my profile, isn't actually 5 foot five, but I changed his size for the purpose of this story. Second, this one is not a Bellice story. Shocked? As you can see, I filed this story under Bella and Leah, because this is a BeLeah story (or would it be Swanwater?). Either way, I just thought I'd let you know, in case you were expecting a Bellice story. :)**

**With that, I am going to leave you be. Please review and tell me what you thought of this first chapter! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**The Twilight Saga is the rightful property of Stephenie Meyer. I only take credit for my own ideas.**

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><p><strong>Chapter Two<strong>

The sound of roaring motors accompanied us as we made the short drive to the beach at La Push, that was called First Beach, of all names. There were a group of kids at the parking lot when we pulled up, hanging around their van as the guys grabbed the surfboards out of the back, wanting to take advantage of the surprisingly warm September day.

"How's it going?" one of them asked me as I got off of my bike, taking my helmet off and putting it on the handle bar of my bike. "Looking for some fun?"

"Austin!" one of the girls slapped the boy in the arm.

Rolling my eyes at their exchange, I waited for Jake, Embry and Quil to get off their bikes so we could head down to the beach. Once we were all set up, we jogged towards the souvenir shop so Embry could let his mom know where he was; as she wanted to know his whereabouts 24/7, before we actually walked on the sand bare-footed, carrying our shoes as the tide came in and soaked our feet.

"God, can you believe it's this warm? In September?" Jake asked as he spread his arms out. "It just feels so good."

"It's called global warming, Jake," Quil rolled his eyes. "But yeah, it does feel good."

I nodded. "I think others would agree," I said as I noticed several people wearing only their bathing suits, some men wearing speedos who did _not_ have the body to wear speedos, and some women with bikini's that shouldn't have been in them.

Suppressing a shudder, I looked further down the beach and saw two familiar blondes lying on towels as they sunbathed, sunglasses protecting their eyes from the light that radiated from the sun. Behind them I saw two other familiar people, a dark-haired boy and girl, building a sad attempt of a sand-castle.

The girl looked up and waved. "Bella!" she called out, a smile on her lips as the boy saw and waved, the girls on the towels taking off their glasses to look in our direction.

I waved back, smiling. "Come on, guys," I said to the boys before we jogged to the group, throwing our shoes down on an unoccupied towel.

"Glad you could come," the girl, Angela, chuckled as she stood up from her sandcastle. "Eric and I were building a sandcastle."

"You could say we were _trying_ to build one," Eric said as he stood up, wrapping his right arm around Angela's waist with a smile on his face. "Hey, Bella."

"Hey, Eric, Angela," I said with a smile before I turned to look at the girls on the towels. "Hey Jess, Lauren."

Lauren looked up at me, opening her mouth to speak before she closed it with an audible snap, looking back down almost instantly.

Now, I didn't really like Lauren, but I had to give her credit; she was trying to be nicer this year. Normally I wouldn't have picked her as a friend, but she was Jessica's friend and Jessica was my friend, so we all just sort of fell into the same group, but she constantly did anything she could to belittle people.

That is, until she fell for a scam during the summer. A guy had come to her and told her he was from a modeling agency and that, if she paid five hundred dollars and cut her hair off, he could have his friend take pictures of her. She paid the man in hopes of getting out of Forks but, sadly, the next day when she went to meet his friend, he was nowhere to be found, leaving her five hundred dollars poorer and with a new haircut, one that reached her ears.

Her hair had grown since then, barely brushing her shoulders, but she thought that that was just karma telling her something was wrong, and that she needed to change her act.

Clearing her throat, she looked back up at me with a smile. "Hey, Bella, glad you're here."

Jess nodded next to her. "And with great company," she said, lowering her sunglasses as she looked at the three boys with me. "Boys, why don't you all take your shirts off? After all, you do want to have some clothes dry, right?"

Jake, Quil and Embry all exchanged a look before they shrugged and took off their shirts, revealing their physique. Quil was the more defined of the group, his abdominal muscles showing a lot better than Jake's, and Embry was with Jake in that department.

Still, that didn't stop Lauren and Jess from licking their lips in approval.

Eric sighed. "Great, Bella. Thanks for bringing your friends. Now you're going to make every other guy on the beach inferior."

"Oh, I doubt that," Angela said next to him, looking in the distance. "That guy over there looks a lot fitter than these three."

Following her gaze, I saw a rather large Quileute who I recognized almost immediately, his lips up in a demented smirk as he looked around the beach with his eyes narrowed, looking for someone to mess with.

"Speak of the devil," Jake muttered under his breath. "It's Paul Lahote. A bully."

"The biggest bully that attended the Tribal school," Quil added with a nod. "I hate his guts."

"What did he do to you guys?" Lauren asked, her tone actually sincere. Go her.

Embry sighed. "He's just always looking for someone to pick on. He thinks that, since there is no one bigger than him, he can push anybody he wants to."

Suddenly, Paul's head snapped in our direction before his smirk deepened, cracking his knuckles as he briskly walked towards us.

"Shit," Quil cursed, "I don't want this to happen now."

"Too late," Jake muttered under his breath with a sigh, crossing his arms.

"Well, well, well," Paul started as he stopped a few feet away from us, his smirk still intact as he looked at the three boys behind me. "Trying to show off your non-existent muscles?"

"Trying to show off your non-existent genitals? Because you're doing a _swell_ job at it," Quil teased, throwing up a thumbs-up.

Paul's jaw tightened as he glared at the boy who had talked back to him, his hands clenching into fists before he took a step forward. "Listen, _Quil_, I don't know who you think you are but I know that you did _not _just talk to me like that."

Quil shrugged. "Not much you can do about it, right? We're in a public place, dumb ass, so why don't you run along back to your mom so you can whine to her about how you can't bully anyone anymore?"

"Of course we're in a public place. It's _my_ beach. _I'm_ the one who makes sure that _no one_ gets hurt; unless it's by me, of course. Now why don't _you _go run along to your daddy, huh? Oh wait," Paul paused, grinning, "you don't have one."

"Paul, just leave us alone," Embry said, looking at the bully with his eyes narrowed. "You already messed with us yesterday."

"And I'm going to mess with you every day, _bastard_," he barked. "Now, stand still and take this like a man, alright?"

Embry tightened his jaw and closed his eyes as Paul pulled his fist back, ready to take a swing at Embry. Shifting his feet, he swung forward but was stopped by a hand, his expression shocked as he looked at the person who stopped him mid-punch.

There stood Sam Uley, his expression neutral as he held Paul's arm in place. "Leave them alone, Paul."

Paul twitched his lip, pulling his arm back from Sam's grip. "Fuck off, Uley. This is none of your concern."

"It became his concern when you tried to hurt someone," another voice sounded, and I saw that Jared Cameron was walking our way, something black on his left shoulder, but, since the right side of his body was turned to me, I couldn't tell what it was. "You should just walk away, alright?"

Paul snorted. "Oh great. The cavalry arrived. Don't you get tired of being a wingman to a pussy, Jared?"

Jared cracked a smile. "I'll let you know whenever I become your wingman."

This made Paul angrier, his fists clenching tighter as he glared at the boy.

"Paul," Sam said again, eyeing the boy. "Leave. Now."

Paul looked back at Sam before shaking his head with a smirk. "You think you're the big man on campus, don't you Sam? All the elders love you and you keep this beach clean. One of these days you're going to lose everything, and I'm going to be there to see it."

With that, he turned around and headed back up the beach, his hands still clenched together as he stormed off.

Jared glanced at Sam, whispering something too soft for me to hear, and Sam nodded solemnly as he looked in the direction that Paul had gone.

"Sorry about that," Jared said, turning in our direction with a grin. "You know how Paul is."

"You really shouldn't have enticed him like that, though," Sam said, glancing at Embry and Quil. "He likes people who challenge him; it makes him think he actually has a worthy opponent."

Quil shrugged. "Can't help it, it's just what happened."

"Well, be more careful next time. You never know what could happen if you get too angry," Sam said, glancing at the two boys again.

"We'll remember that," Embry nodded. "But first you have to tell us about those tattoos. I've never seen them on you two before."

Sam looked down to his right shoulder and chuckled, showing the tattoo off. "It's just a tattoo of two wolves howling, no big deal."

Jared nodded. "Wolves stick together, no matter what."

"Sam?" I heard someone call, and I bit my lip to keep myself from smiling uncontrollably. Sam turned around to look at the person who called his name, and I couldn't help but _look_ at the woman.

Her copper colored skin was almost perfect, the sun radiating off of it, and she had long legs that any girl would kill for. She was wearing jean shorts, ones that made her legs seemed like they went on for forever and made her ass look go—

_Stop thinking like that, Bella._

"Leah," he said, a smile to his tone before she ran up to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Good to see you."

Leah looked at Sam for a brief moment before she looked towards me, a smile growing on her lips as she let go of her boyfriend. "Bella! Wow, I didn't think you'd be here in La Push this weekend."

"I'm here _every_ weekend, Leah," I chuckled as she wrapped her arms around me, inhaling her sweet, cinnamon flavored scent. I wonder how she would tas—

_Bella. Stop._

Letting go of her, I gave her a small smile. "Surprised you haven't gone to Washington State, yet, Leah."

She chuckled. "Waiting until next semester, actually. I wanted to spend more time with Sam," she said before giving her boyfriend a kiss on the lips.

Pursing my lips, I looked down at the sand, shuffling my feet as I grew uncomfortable with the situation.

"Well, we should get going," Sam said before turning to us. "Take care of yourselves. Especially you two," he said, looking directly at Quil and Embry before he turned around, his arm wrapped around Leah and Jared following him.

"So, I think those guys actually beat that Paul guy with their shirtless look," I heard Jessica muse to Lauren.

"Yeah," Lauren agreed, "they're definitely hot."

Suppressing a sigh, I silently wished that I would think Sam and Jared were hot. They were obviously good looking, but I just wasn't attracted to them. Things would be so much easier if I were.

"Looks like someone did get my text after all!" I heard a voice call before I noticed Mike walking up towards the towels, his body drenched in salt water. "I've got good news for you, Bella."

"Yeah?" I asked with a smile. "You're moving?"

Tyler, who had walked up with Mike, chuckled with Eric before Mike rolled his eyes. "Actually, no. My mom thinks that you should come by the shop tomorrow for an interview."

"Sweet," I said, grinning. "Tell me what time."

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><p>"And how old are you?" Karen Newton asked, looking rather bored as she wrote down on her clipboard, glancing at me every now and then.<p>

"I just turned eighteen," I answered, making sure I was sitting up straight in my chair, my hands in my lap. "Today is my birthday."

"Oh," she said, sounding a bit more interested than she was before. "Happy Birthday."

I nodded. "Thank you."

"Well, I suppose you can have the job. Lord knows it will save me from taking extra shifts. Congratulations, Bella. You're hired. You start tomorrow."

_Wow. My first interview and I got the job. This year is going by well so far._

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><p><strong>AN: I didn't throw in Bella getting a job at Newton's Olympic Outfitters for no reason. In fact, I have a good reason, and you'll see it next chapter. :) Well, and in the following chapters. We begin to hear a _lot_ that goes on in Forks. **

**Next chapter we get to see two familiar faces that we haven't seen yet, ones with a last name starting with C.**

**Also, my Lauren is pictured as Dianna Agron. If you don't know her, google her and you'll see Lauren's face. **

**Without further ado, I'll leave you with this lovely review button. Please be nice to it. :)**_  
><em>


	3. Chapter 3

**The Twilight Saga is the rightful property of Stephenie Meyer; I only take credit for my own ideas.**

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><p><strong>Chapter Three<strong>

"Damn it," Lauren cursed as I sat down at our lunch table, my eyebrows knitted together as I wondered if she was cussing at me before I noticed that her eyes were on her arms. "Why can't I tan? I sat out there for like, two hours and I didn't get _anything_."

Mike chuckled from next to her, his arm around Jessica as he leaned back in his chair. "It doesn't show up right away, Lauren. It takes a while before you notice the change."

Lauren sighed, glancing in my direction. "I wish I was born with your skin, Bella. You've got the perfect combination of light and dark without even trying. I'm jealous."

Puzzled, I looked at my arms and sighed as I realized that my skin _was_ darker than theirs, but it was nowhere near the shade that Jake and the guys had.

Sitting down, I shrugged. "My dad had some dark ancestors, I guess," I said. Though it was true; his grandfather had black hair and darker skin than most of his family, I still felt like an outsider when I was with my friends. It wasn't just my skin color, but it was also the fact that I wasn't interested in the same things as them.

Shopping, partying, drinking, boys…

_Bella, shut up, _my mind snarled at me, _you _are_ interested in boys. You just haven't found the right one yet._

Pursing my lips, I turned to Angela and asked her about the assignment we had in History, before Mike brought up something I hadn't heard before.

"Hey, Lauren, didn't you say that we were getting new kids today? I haven't seen them yet," he said, furrowing his brow in confusion.

Tyler snorted. "Maybe her sources aren't as good as she thinks they are."

Lauren, in turn, slapped him in the back of his head before turning to Mike. "Well, I know that we were _supposed_ to get new kids, but their records had indicated that they usually went hiking during sunny days."

Glancing out of the windows, I noticed that the sun was actually making an appearance for the third day in a row. Wow. That was a new record.

"Oh, so your source is files in the office? Aren't those confidential and not supposed to be seen by students?" Angela asked critically, though you could hear the humor in her tone as she looked at Lauren with a playful smile.

Lauren chuckled, thankfully taking Angela's joke in stride. "Well, it's okay to look at the files when you're filing them, right? As an office aid, I feel I have more rights than most other students," she shrugged. "Anyway, there are going to be two of them, a boy and a girl, and they'll both be seniors."

Jessica shook her head. "Who would transfer during their senior year? That like…not right."

"Maybe they have no other choice?" I asked with a shrug. "Maybe their dad got a really good job offer?"

Lauren nodded in agreement. "Their dad is going to be a doctor at the hospital, and apparently he's going to be getting paid more than the Chief of Staff."

"Damn," Eric said, shaking his head. "He must be _good_."

"He received glowing recommendations from his previous employer, so I'd say he's probably the best Forks is ever going to see," Lauren said with a chuckle.

"Bet his kids are probably really smart, too," Mike guessed with a nod, his lips pursed as he glanced at Angela and Eric. "And the smart kids are usually…not that good looking."

"HEY!" Angela and Eric both called out, looking at Mike with their mouths open.

Jessica slapped her boyfriend for them, shooting them a smile before sighing. "Mike, Eric and Angela are good looking. Better looking than you would expect."

"Right, right," he said before turning to the two he had just insulted, smiling apologetically. "Sorry."

Angela chuckled. "It's alright. The next time you need help with your homework I'll make sure you get a C on it."

Eric raised his hand up in hopes of a high-five and, when Angela slapped his hand, he laughed. "That's my girl," he said before pressing his lips to her temple.

"Bella, you excited for your first day?" Tyler asked as he grabbed the apple from his tray. "Mike told me his mom hired you."

"I told _all _of you," Mike stressed, rolling his eyes. "Don't make it sound like you're special."

"Kind of nervous for it, actually," I answered truthfully, ignoring Mike's jab at Tyler. "But I think I'll do a good job."

Mike reached over and patted me on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Bella. There isn't much to do. We'll probably be waiting by the counters all day long."

* * *

><p>"Told you," Mike murmured to me as we stood behind the cash register, our arms crossed as we waited for <em>anyone <em>to walk through the doors.

"Told me what?" I asked before a yawn overcame me. Damn; my first day on the job and I was already tired.

"I told you that we'd be waiting by the counters all day. We usually don't get business on Monday's; Friday and Saturday are our days when we get the most customers."

I nodded. "What's your mom usually do?"

"Mainly stock and inventory. You can do that, if you want. There probably isn't much that needs changing, but we normally do it around six, and its five fifty nine now," he said with a shrug before he bent down, opening up one of the cabinet drawers, his lips pursed. "Let's see if I can't find the clipboard…"

"You mean this clipboard?" I heard a male voice ask and, when I looked up, I noticed Mr. Newton giving us a smile, said clipboard in his hands. "I was doing inventory on the firearms; can't have kids doing that, now can we?"

"Dad," Mike groaned, "Bella's an adult. I'm sure she could do that."

"I was just teasing her, Mike," his dad said, chuckling before he handed me the clipboard. "And while you're wearing the vest, it's Mr. Newton, not Dad."

With a chuckle I nodded. "Thanks Mr. Newton. I'll make sure to be quick with the inventory."

"That's the spirit," he said with a wink before patting me on the shoulder, heading towards the back.

Deciding that I should get on with my job, I walked down one of the five aisles the store had, making sure to count each piece of merchandise, twice for good measure, before I moved on with the next one. I was on the fishing poles when I heard the soft ring of the bell on the door, signaling that the door had been opened, before I heard Mike's faint "Welcome to Newton's Olympic Outfitters".

With a shrug, as I'm pretty sure they knew their way around the store, I continued on with my work before I felt someone poke my shoulder.

Turning around, I came face to face with someone who made me do a double take.

She was about five foot one in height, her ink black hair pointing in every direction, her features delicate and pixie-like. Her lips were pale but still beautiful, her skin a porcelain color, and underneath her golden-brown eyes were shadows, almost like she had had a bad night's sleep.

"Excuse me," she said, her lips tugging upwards, "I was wondering if you could tell me where the hiking boots were located. A bear got a hold of mine and destroyed them when I was camping with my family this weekend."

"Uh—I—uh…" was all that came out of my mouth before I started to gape at the girl, because there was no way she was an adult, before me. She was just…

_Maybe there isn't hope for me being straight, after all…_my mind wondered silently as my eyes slowly lowered down towards her shirt, swallowing a lump in my throat when I noticed she was still waiting for me to answer.

"I'mnewheresoIreallydon'tknow," I managed to get out, but I doubt she heard me, as it was all jumbled together. Clearing my throat, I put on a smile. "I'm new here, so I really don't know, but I think it's on the other side of the store."

She nodded. "Good to know I'm not the only new one to Forks. I'm Alice Cullen," she said, offering her hand with a kind smile.

I chuckled as I tucked the clipboard underneath my arm, extending my other one to grab her hand. "Bella Swan, but I'm not new to Forks. I meant I'm new to Olympic Outfitters…it's my first day."

"Ooh," she said before giggling, "well, this is awkward. I'm sorry, I just thought, by the way you said it, that you were new to Forks. Sorry for thinking otherwise."

"No, no, it's okay," I said, smiling again. "I might've thought the same thing were I in your shoes. So you're one of the infamous kids coming to school this year, huh?"

She let out another giggle. "Infamous, huh? Yes, I suppose that would be us; my brother and I, I mean. There are more of us, but they're in college so they won't be attending Forks High."

I nodded. "Yeah, it's not every day we get kids transferring in the middle of the school year. Causes a lot of commotion, especially with the gossipers at our school."

"I take it there are a lot of them?"

"Not as much as you'd think, but enough to spread the word around," I said with a shrug. "So, why are you moving to Forks in the middle of the school year?"

"Well, it's a bit complicated," Alice started. "My father likes to help out around hospitals that are in need of assistance and, although he is a great surgeon, he normally asks to be paid the regular amount you would pay him."

Letting out a small laugh, I grabbed the clipboard from under my arm. "Well, I guess that means the rumors about him being paid more than the Chief of Staff are just rumors. I've got to go, though. Don't want to lose my job on my first day."

"No," she chuckled, "you wouldn't. Take care, Bella. Maybe I'll see you tomorrow."

I nodded. "Let's hope so."

She turned around to leave then, and I couldn't stop my eyes from watching her, a lump forming in my throat as she rounded the corner.

_Bella_, my mind warned hesitantly.

Biting my lip in frustration, I shook my head and continued with inventory and, when I had moved to the tackle boxes, I heard the bell on the door ring again. With a sigh, I realized that Alice had left, and I figured it would be better to get on with my job.

After ten minutes of inventory, I was finished with my work, so I headed up to the counter to see Mike flipping through a magazine, _Hunter's Digest._

"You hunt?" I asked as I sat the clipboard on the counter, moving behind it to lean against the wall.

He shrugged. "Yes and no. Dad and I sometimes go and hunt deer during the weekends; that's when Mom takes over the store, but I haven't actually _killed_ anything. At least, not yet."

"You want to?" I asked incredulously just as the door opened, the bell clinging, and, as I looked at the person who entered the store, my eyes went wide.

Paul Lahote was tense as he took stiff steps further into the building, his nostrils flared as he looked around the store. He was wearing a wife beater that strained over his bulging shoulders and a pair of shorts that looked like they _were_ pants before it was torn at the knees.

His eyes caught mine and I stiffened. They were almost black and they seemed deadly as he walked over to the counter, throwing his hands on the top with a loud slap before he curled his lip up over his teeth. "Who was in here?" he asked a bit too violently, spit flying out of his mouth and onto the counter.

"Dude, chill out," Mike chuckled, "it's just a store."

"Who. Was. In. Here?" he repeated in short spats, his lip twitching. "Tell me; before someone gets hurt."

"Jesus, Paul," I said, rolling my eyes, "why does it matter to you?"

"Just tell me. Now."

Mike glanced at me, fear flashing in his eyes. "Did you catch her name?"

I nodded before turning back to Paul, who looked like he was seconds away from having a nervous breakdown. "Her name was Alice Cullen."

"Cullen," he said with a stiff nod. "Thanks."

With that, he turned to head out of the store, opening the door so hard it almost looked like it had come off of the hinges, before he stormed out and into the parking lot.

One thing I noticed as he had left, however, was something on his right forearm, up near the shoulder. It was familiar to me and, after racking my brain for details, I finally realized where I had seen it before.

It was the same tattoo Sam and Jared had.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: And another one gone and another one gone; another one bites the dust!**

**So it seems that Paul is now part of Sam and Jared's peace-keeping group, eh? I wonder what that could mean.**

**Also, for this story, I have been making it a point to reply to people when they review, but, there is someone I cannot reply to because they have their private messaging setting turned off. This particular someone is someone I'd _very_ much like to talk to about this story and my other story, Optical Illusion, so please, if you would, turn your PM setting on for a bit?**

**I should also point out that I typically write my chapters in between two to three thousands words. Sometimes I'll get more than that, but generally, you're looking at a 2-3k word per chapter story. It's just how I write.**

**With that said and done, I bid you adieu. I hope you like this chapter. :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**The Twilight Saga is the rightful property of Stephenie Meyer; I only take credit for my own ideas.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Four<strong>

"Got a call into the station yesterday," Dad started as Chuck and I ate our cereal. He was sitting in his usual seat, the paper in his hands as his coffee mug sat on the table, wearing his uniform as he prepared for another's day work at the station.

"Yeah?" Mom asked as she took her seat next to him, her mug full of steaming hot tea, the tea bag still in there, as evident by the white rectangle that was connected to a string that led inside the cup. "A speeding tourist?"

He shook his head as he sat the paper down on the table, glancing at Chuck and me. "No. Actually, a couple of hikers called in and said that they saw a black bear. Wanted me to check it out."

"Are there even black bears in Washington?" Chuck asked before dipping his spoon into his bowl. "You sure they weren't smoking something?"

I chuckled. "Just because they're hikers it doesn't mean that they smoke."

"They sounded pretty lucid to me," Dad said with a shrug. "'Course you never know. Maybe they were playing a prank, or maybe they didn't see it clearly? They did say that they only saw black fur, though, and that it was about five feet tall."

"Bears are typically how big?" Mom asked.

"Four foot three. Mark and I wanted to investigate to see if there were any truth to their words, and yes, Chuck, black bears are in Washington," Dad said before he chuckled, shaking his head. "Had to look that up, too."

"Good to know the old man can use technology," I teased, earning a glare from the man in question. "Do you think the bear is going to cause trouble?"

Dad shook his head. "Probably not. As long as someone doesn't mess with it, that is. Maybe they were on something, so hopefully we don't have anything to worry about, but you two need to stay clear of the woods until Mark and I sort this thing out, alright? I don't want to hear that you've been out there riding that death-trap you call a machine with Jake and the guys, okay?"

"But first," Mom said with a smile, "you two need to get ready for school. Chuck, why don't you gather your stuff? I need to get into the elementary school early, so we should head out soon."

Chuck nodded before he stood up and put his bowl away, heading towards the stairs, but not before he wacked me against the back of my head.

"Hey!" I called out, hearing him snicker as he disappeared to our room. "I'll get him back later…I should probably get going, too."

With that, I pushed my chair in and walked into the living room, as I was smart and put my backpack in there so that I didn't need to go back to my room to fetch it, before I opened the front door.

"Tell Jake he needs to hurry up on that truck!" Dad called out after me, though I didn't respond back as I hopped onto my bike, gunning it to life before I headed for the bane of my existence; Forks High School.

As I pulled into the parking lot, I noticed that there was a brand new silver Volvo sitting in between Angela's Corolla and Mike's Suburban, slightly wet from the early morning rain. Pulling into a parking spot that was closer to the building, as I didn't want to run to my bike in case it was raining; rain and clumsiness doesn't mix, I got off my bike to see Jessica and Lauren walking over to me, their eyes wide as they kept glancing at the silver Volvo.

"What is it?" I asked, taking my helmet off.

"The new kids are here," Jessica whispered, almost too low for me to hear.

Lauren nodded. "And the boy…hot damn…he is one good looking son of a bitch. If I weren't dating Tyler…"

Jessica scoffed. "Mike's going to find himself single if that boy shows even a sliver of interest in me. Just saying."

"He can't be _that _good looking," I said, shaking my head with a smile.

Lauren raised an eyebrow at me, crossing her arms with a smirk. "Just wait until you see him. I think he might've been a model before he moved here; he's _that_ hot."

Rolling my eyes, I gripped the strap of my backpack as I passed them. "I'll see for myself."

"Might want to grab a bucket for the drool!" Jessica called after me in a teasing tone.

Shaking my head with a chuckle, I headed towards my locker, stuffing my helmet into it, before I walked into my Biology class to see Mr. Banner writing on the chalkboard.

"Good morning, Miss Swan," he said with a smile as he watched me walk to my station. "How is the Chief doing?"

"He's doing well, Mr. Banner, just like yesterday," I chuckled. Mr. Banner was the one teacher who was curious about my father, always asking how he was. "Said he got a call about a hiker seeing a black bear in the woods yesterday."

"That's quite possible," he said with a nod. "Good to hear he's doing well. Give him my best?"

I nodded. "Will do, Mr. Banner."

The class started to pile in, then, so Mr. Banner hurried on with his writing on the chalkboard, several students whispering about the arrival of the doctor's kids. I ignored them as I got out my Biology book and a sheet of paper, getting ready for the sponge that Mr. Banner was putting on the board.

The bell rang about a minute after, signaling the start of class, and everyone started to scribble the answer to the sponge on their paper, looking up every now and then to make sure they knew what the question was, before I heard the door open.

"May I help you?" Mr. Banner's voice called from his desk and, as I looked up to see who he was greeting, I noticed that the guy who walked in was obviously good looking.

_This must be the model Jessica was talking about earlier._

His bronze colored hair seemed reminiscent of someone who had just gotten out of bed, messy and wild and untamed, almost like it was its own species, and he had golden-brown eyes that shined as he smiled at Mr. Banner. His skin was alabaster in color, almost as pale as the white undershirt he was wearing, and he had light, purplish bruises underneath his eyes.

_Probably wasn't able to sleep with the rain, _I thought as I watched his smile turn apologetic, handing a slip of paper to Mr. Banner.

"I apologize for my tardiness. Mrs. Cope was having trouble with her computer and I had to wait until she gave me my slip of paper for you to sign," he spoke in a fluid voice, some of the girls in our class whimpering.

Mr. Banner took a look at the note and nodded. "Mr. Cullen, pleasure to have you in my class. There's only one seat available right now, and it belongs at the same station as Miss Swan. Bella, can you raise your hand so Edward may have a seat?"

With a nod I did as he asked, raising my hand in the air just as this "Edward" fellow turned to look at me, a half-smile on his face as he waited for Mr. Banner to sign his slip. Once our teacher had given him the sheet of paper back, he headed towards me, walking behind my stool before he sat down in his own, clearing his throat.

"I'm Edward Cullen," he said, offering his hand to mine as Mr. Banner sat back down at his desk.

Looking at him, I could see the appeal he had but…he just…didn't do anything for me.

_Bella, stop thinking like that. You just need to imagine him as someone you'd like, and you'll like him. Simple as that. _

"Bella Swan," I said with a smile as I took his hand. "Though you probably already knew that."

He nodded before I noticed that he stiffened against my touch, his jaw taut as his eyes seemed to grow black right in front of me.

My breath was caught in the back of my throat and I pulled away my hand, fearing for my life as I noticed the steel cold look in his eyes.

He narrowed his eyes as he looked at me, his nostrils flaring almost instantly, before he stood up abruptly. "Sorry, Mr. Banner, I need to go the bathroom," he announced before he stormed out of the classroom, not giving our teacher a chance to say anything.

"Jeez, Bella, did you stab him with a pencil or something?" one of the classmates, Lee Stephen, asked with a chuckle before he turned to his work.

Considering Edward's reaction, you would've thought that I did, but I barely even touched his hand before he went all crazy on me.

Still…I couldn't help but wonder…what _was_ going on in his head?

* * *

><p>"Did you see him, Bella?" Jessica asked as her and Lauren walked to our lunch table, their trays in hand before they took their seats. "Did you see McHottie?"<p>

Mike snorted as he grabbed a tater tot, throwing into his mouth and, surprisingly, catching it with ease. "Lee told me that she stabbed him with a pencil."

Lauren gasped. "Why would you _do_ that?"

"I did _not_ stab him with a pencil," I defended as I glared at Mike. "Lee was just joking when he asked me that. Edward just…he got really upset for a reason."

"Probably had to rush to the bathroom," Tyler teased, his hand inching closer to Mike's tater tots.

I shrugged. "He didn't come back, so I'm thinking he must've headed home."

"Well, isn't he hot, though?" Jessica asked, smiling. "He's like…he's like someone from a television show, you know? _That's_ how hot he is."

"I'd like to be in an on again-off again relationship with him any time," Lauren nodded in agreement.

"Hey!" Tyler said, throwing his hands up incredulously. "What about me? I thought we had something."

She chuckled as she patted his head. "Don't worry, Tyler. As long as you keep the position of quarterback, I'll still be with you."

He snorted and nodded his head in approval before he snatched one of Mike's tater tots, quickly stuffing it into his mouth before Mike could notice.

"Bella, is that you?" I heard a soft voice ask and, when I turned around to see who it was, a smile grew on my lips as I recognized its owner.

"Oh, hey, Alice," I said, the smile still on my lips. "You want to sit with us? We've got room for one more." I pulled out the chair next to me for emphasis, ignoring Tyler and Mike's "dayum" from behind me.

Alice looked around the cafeteria before she nodded and sat down. "I was supposed to meet my brother, but…well, I guess he went home early."

"Because Bella stabbed him with a pencil," Tyler muttered under his breath and, when I turned to glare at him, he and Mike fist-bumped. "I'm Tyler. This here is Mike."

Mike nodded. "I took your money yesterday…after you bought a pair of boots."

"Oh, right. Yeah, I remember. Nice to see you again," she said with a smile before turning to the girls that were sitting next to them. "And you are?"

"Jessica, Mike's _girlfriend_," she stressed, sending a glare in his direction.

"And I'm Lauren, Tyler's girlfriend," Lauren said with a smile. "Angela and Eric sit here too, but I don't know where they are."

"Probably trying to scrounge up extra credit," Mike said with a shrug. "It's not like they need it or anything."

Alice pursed her lips and looked around the table before her eyes rested on me. "So you stabbed my brother with a pencil? Is that what Tyler said?"

Tyler and Mike both chuckled with one another, nodding in approval as I rolled my eyes. "No, people think I did, but I didn't. I barely even touched him before he…left the room. It was weird."

"Hmm," Alice said before she shrugged. "He's probably home sick or something. I know that he's been missing our family in Alaska for a couple of weeks now, so maybe my dad might send him back up there for a week, just so he can get his homesickness out of the way."

I pursed my lips. The way he acted, it didn't seem like the way one would act if they were homesick. The look in his eyes…it was almost homicidal.

Yeah, there was no way he was _just _homesick. There was something else there.

"So, Alice, how long have you been here? In Forks, I mean," Tyler said as he reached for another one of Mike's tater tots.

"A couple months, now, but we needed time to settle in. That's why we didn't start school right away, but my brother and I are pretty smart; we'll catch up in no time."

Jessica shook her head and muttered "smart and beautiful, not fair," before Mike cleared his throat, moving his arm to block Tyler from advancing towards his food.

"That explains why Paul was looking for you, then. He came by to the store about ten minutes after you left, asking who was in there," he said with a shrug. "Didn't know you were popular."

Alice's brow furrowed. "I'm sorry, who?"

"Paul Lahote. He's a really angry guy and he was really upset about something when he was searching for you," I explained.

Mike nodded. "Figured you stole his money or did _something_ to him. Though, it _is_ Paul. He likes to mess with people for no reason at all."

"I'm afraid I have no _clue _as to who you're talking about," Alice said, chuckling. "Why was he looking for me?"

"I don't know, but he was just…_angry_ and he looked like he was about ready to punch the wall," I said, grabbing my apple as I noticed I hadn't touched most of my own lunch yet.

"What does he look like? Maybe I know him and I just didn't get his name."

"Big," Tyler said.

"Scary," Mike added.

"Muscular," Jessica continued.

"Angry," Lauren nodded.

Rolling my eyes, I turned to Alice. "He also has short black hair and tan skin. Like most of the guys down at La Push."

Alice's mouth twitched before she sighed. "Yeah, I think I know who you're talking about. I need to go, though. I want to see if I can get a hold of Edward."

With that, she stood up from our table with ease, and as she headed towards the cafeteria doors, I noticed that she was walking hastily by the time she exited.

I didn't know much about the Cullens, but there was one thing I was becoming aware of; there was something strange going on with the kids.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: And the next chapter is out! How was it? We've learned that the Cullens moved in a couple months prior, and that Edward was "stabbed with a pencil".**

**Since I respond to every review for this story, you can ask any question you want and, if I don't find them too spoilerish, I _might_ answer them.**

**Next chapter is a nice barbeque at the Black house. :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**The Twilight Saga is the rightful property of Stephenie Meyer. I only take credit for my own ideas.**

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><p><strong>Chapter Five<strong>

For the entire week, Edward Cullen didn't show up to school. It was weird, knowing that I had a Biology partner at last, considering Mr. Banner felt that some of my peers would take advantage of my knowledge in his class, but he hadn't made an appearance at all. Jessica was beginning to worry that she made up the model in her head as a result of her sexual frustration since Mike had been working late at night.

I didn't listen. The thought of the two of them was enough to make me sick; I didn't need to hear about their love life.

"Tell Chief to get his big butt off of me!" Chuck half-complained as he tried to push the large German Shepherd onto my lap, Chief's tongue hanging out as he peered at the passing greenery through the windshield.

Mom chuckled as she turned left, driving her very old and apparently very durable station wagon, the one she drove up to Forks with when she and her friends wanted to "see the world" back in 1990. "Relax, Chuck. Just two more minutes until we get to Billy's."

Dad nodded in agreement. "Just two more minutes before I loosen my belt. I can't believe he's cooking his ribs."

"Now Charlie," Mom started, using her scolding tone as I noticed the familiar blue house that belonged to Billy's closest neighbor, shifting in my seat as I realized it would take us about five minutes before we reached there. Billy and Jake didn't really have neighbors, unless you count the trees, so I pursed my lips as I noticed that Mom had lied to Chuck, hoping that my younger brother wouldn't notice this. "Let's hope you don't slip into a barbeque coma like you did the last time Billy had ribs."

"Man that was the day. How many did I have? Twelve?" Dad chuckled before he shook his head. "I can't help it. Billy does something to those ribs and I just…I _need_ to find out what secret he has."

"Whatever it is," Mom said, glancing at Chief through the rearview mirror, "I'm sure Chief enjoys it all the same. You spoil that dog by feeding him bones."

"I don't give him chicken bones!" Dad argued, which, of course, meant that I had to listen to my parents bicker about feeding Chief bones until we pulled up Jake's driveway. Looking out of my window, I noticed that there weren't any bikes leaning against the shed.

_So it'll just be me and Jake. Great, _I thought to myself, dreading what might come out of it. Jake knew I wasn't interested in him, but that didn't stop him from flirting with me any chance he had. Maybe if I told him the truth he'd back off.

_What truth, Bella? You're not attracted to him. That's it. There will be other guys that you'll find yourself attracted to._

Opening my door with a sigh, I stepped onto the dirt pathway and looked at the red house I had visited many times growing up, the siding starting to fade out and some of the shingles looking as if they would fall any minute. The barn that acted as Jake's garage was in better shape, most likely because Jake considered the garage to be his pride and joy.

We walked towards the front door, stepping on the handmade ramp Jake had built when he was twelve after he learned his father would be confined to a wheel chair, hearing it creak as I walked onto the porch.

"Should probably tell Jake to fix that," Dad commented before he rang the doorbell, his other hand scratching the spot behind Chief's ear.

"Come in!" Billy yelled.

Dad opened the door and waited for us to walk in before he did so himself, closing the door behind him as we noticed Billy rolling himself into the living room of their small house. I felt bad for Jake, growing up in a two bedroom house with five family members, having to share a small bedroom with his twin sisters. Still, he probably felt good now that they were out of the house, able to enjoy his own room.

"Smells good," Dad said with a smile as Billy stopped his wheel chair near the couch, a smile on his weathered face. "How many slabs are you cooking?"

Billy pursed his lips thoughtfully. "Uh…about ten slabs, I think. I had to make a lot, because I invited Harry to come over too."

That caught my interest. "Leah's coming?" I asked, before I realized everyone was looking at me. "And Seth?" I added for good measure.

_Nice save. _

Billy nodded. "And Sue, too. I was actually on the phone with them, so it won't be long until they get here."

"I bet there's a game on, too," Dad grinned.

"Where's Jake?" I asked, not interested in the baseball talk that _always _happened whenever my dad got together with Billy and Harry.

"Probably in the garage. I think he was going to work on your truck," Billy answered and, after a quick nod, I ducked outside of the house and half-jogged towards the garage, knocking on the door as I walked in.

"Jake?" I asked, looking around the place to see if I could find the boy in question before I bent down and saw his legs underneath the truck that sat in the middle of it. It was a candy apple red truck with a silver border on the bottom, both colors shining as the legs underneath them wiggled out before Jake stood up and dusted his jeans off. Not so surprisingly, his t-shirt, which was green with wolves and trees on it, was covered in grease, as were his jeans. Usually this was a common occurrence in his appearance. "I thought she was done?"

"She is now," he said with a grin, tossing a set of keys to me.

I, of course, dropped them as soon as I caught them. "Give me some warning," I said as I grabbed them off of the ground, standing up to look my friend in the eye.

Well, the best I could, seeing as it seemed he grew three inches in the past week. My eyes widened as I looked at him. "Jesus Christ, Jake. You know anabolic steroids are bad for you, right?"

He chuckled as he walked over to one of his work benches, throwing a screwdriver on there before he turned to look at me again. "I'm just hitting my growth spurt, Bells. Hell, you know they say girls mature faster than guys. I guess this is just my time to shine."

"Or your time to fall," I snorted. "Seriously, how do you walk? Aren't you afraid you're going to fall now that your legs are longer than you expected."

He shrugged. "Not really. I mean, I _have_ tripped a couple times this week, but I've gotten used to it. At least, I think I have."

After he said that there was an awkward silence, most likely because I didn't know what to say to that and he probably had nothing else to say, or he was thinking of something to say to me about, no doubt, his crush on me.

Pursing my lips, I looked around the garage, kicking at the dirt as I tried to think of something to say that wouldn't end up leading Jake into talking about his crush. "I'm surprised Quil and Embry aren't here," I said, looking back at my childhood friend with a shrug. "Normally you guys are glued to the hip."

Jake chuckled. "Well, Embry's been sick the past couple of days; I don't think he's over it yet, and Quil, well, it's the anniversary of his dad's…accident, so I don't think he'll be up for hanging out for a while."

Poor Quil. When he was seven, his father was out fishing when a storm had capsized his boat. The pieces of the boat showed up on the shore a day before his body did, and I knew it was hard on Quil whenever it was the middle of September.

"But…I'm glad they aren't here," Jake started, knocking me out of my thoughts. "It gives us time to talk."

"Jake," I said as I immediately smacked myself. Why would he bring this up now? Why couldn't he just let it go? "Can we please not talk about this?"

"Why?" he asked, cocking his head to the side before he crossed his arms. "Why can't we talk about it? Look, Bella, I _want_ to talk about this. Why is it that you don't want to go on a date with me?"

I shook my head. "I already told you—"

"A big fat lie is what you told me," he said, raising an eyebrow. "You and I both know our dads would be _thrilled _if we ended up together. Give me the real reason, please."

I took a deep breath, hoping that it would give me time to collect my thoughts, before I noticed that Jake took off his grease covered shirt, revealing his toned physique which looked a lot better than it did the last time I saw him. "Really? You sure you're not on steroids?"

He chuckled, and I prayed to God he would take that as my cue to go off the topic of his crush on me, before he walked around towards one of his other benches; he kept spare shirts in the garage in case he got them dirty. "I'm sure I'm not on steroids, and I'm also sure you're trying to change the topic. Give me the real reason you don't want to go on a date with me."

Running a hand through my hair, I looked at him with pursed lips before I sighed. "The real reason is that I—," _don't find you attractive, _"don't like you that way," _but it would be so much easier if I did. _"Can you just drop it, please?"

"I know you like me, Bella. You laugh at my jokes even when they're not funny and you always try to touch me. If you _truly_ didn't like me like that, then why would you lead me on like you have been doing?"

"I only laugh at those jokes because I'm your friend and I'm trying to be supportive. Don't try to make it something that it's not, Jake. I just…I _don't_ like you that way."

"Why not?" he pressed before he _finally_ put a clean shirt on. Not that it did anything for me, but he'd probably take my staring the wrong way.

_If only the wrong way _was_ the truth. Why couldn't I find him attractive? It was obvious he had good looks. _"Because I—"

"Knock, knock," a familiar voice called along with a couple taps at the door, saving me from answering Jake's question. Turning around I saw Leah walk in with a grin on her face before she held out her arms, wrapping them around me almost instantly. A smile formed on my lips as I hugged her back, inhaling her sweet aroma before I pulled back. "Nice to see some familiar faces."

"What, you too busy playing tonsil hockey with Sam that you don't have time to see other people?" Jake asked a bit rudely, obviously angry at Leah for interrupting our conversation.

I, on the other hand, was silently sending her a million thanks. "Jake," I warned before I turned to Leah, stuffing my hands in my pockets. "How're you doing?"

Leah shrugged. "Good, I guess. I've been bored mostly, because Sam has been hanging around the beach a lot more, making sure that there isn't any illegal activities going down."

"Hanging around with Jared and Paul?" Jake asked, shaking his head. "I don't understand how Sam tamed Paul. Just a few days ago Paul hated his guts and now he's following him around like a lost puppy. It's sick."

"Yeah, he's been hanging around with Jared and Paul; they're cool guys. He also hangs around with Embry, or, well, Embry hangs around with him. I guess that's why he's not here?"

Jake furrowed his brow. "Embry was sick."

"He wasn't sick when I saw him earlier today. In fact, he looked pretty healthy. He cut off most of his hair so he looks like a man now, especially with the tattoo on his arm," Leah chuckled. "I thought you knew that."

Jake tightened his jaw and clenched his fists together. "_No_," he said through gritted teeth before he pushed passed us, stomping towards his house before he disappeared from out sight.

"Why is Embry hanging around with Sam now, anyway?" I asked Leah as we started to walk to the house, though we took our time.

"Honestly?" she asked before she shrugged. "I don't know. Sam doesn't really talk to me."

"What's going on?" I asked. "You want to talk about it?"

"I mean, we aren't having problems, but he has been a little more secretive lately. Should I be worried?" she asked, turning to look at me with concern etched into her features. "You think he's cheating on me?"

I snorted. "Who would want to cheat on _you_? I _highly_ doubt Sam's cheating on you. You're like…crazy beautiful. I wouldn't understand it if he was cheating on you," I said.

Leah stopped in her tracks, looking me dead in the eye as I stopped next to her, her brown eyes shining with an emotion I couldn't understand. "You're prettier than me, Bella."

"That's impossible," I whispered.

Her eyes flickered to my lips and my breath became caught in the back of my throat. _What the _hell_ was that about? _"It's true," she whispered back before she took a step closer to me, her eyes now locked onto my lips.

Swallowing a lump in my throat, I stared at her lips, not exactly pink but not exactly brown, either, before I heard the front door creak open.

"Come on, guys!" the voice of Leah's younger brother, Seth, shouted as he poked his head through the door way, his usual grin plastered on his face. "The ribs are done!"

Leah nodded to her brother and headed towards the front door, not looking back as she walked into the house, and, with a sigh, I followed her.

As I gathered my ribs onto my plate, I tried to make sense of what happened out there. Were we about to…kiss? That's impossible. Why would Leah want to kiss _me_? I'm…not normal. I'm a girl who is basically an outcast in her own family, struggling with the fact that I was different than them. Whereas they wanted to fish and stay in the house and clean, I wanted to go out and hike or go riding in the dirt on my bike, even though I _knew_ I would end up hurting myself. My family didn't like to take risks, Chuck was afraid of his "leader" but he didn't want to say anything that would upset him.

And, of course, there was the fact that I wasn't interested in _boys_.

_Yes, you are._

Fuck no, I wasn't. I was attracted to…well, at least I think I was attracted to girls. They just seemed to appeal to me more than guys, though, honestly, I never really felt _any_ sort of feelings towards anyone.

Except Leah, of course…

_No, you like that Edward kid. Ask him on a date._

Yeah, right. Like I'd ask the psychopath who had that murderous glare on a date? Besides, he wasn't in school.

Now, his sister on the other hand…

"So, Bella, I hear you got a job?" Sue Clearwater, Leah's mother, started as we had all gathered in the living room. Mom, Sue and Harry sat on the couch while Dad sat at the recliner, happily sucking the barbeque sauce from his rib. Jake sat in a wooden chair that he had brought in just for him, his father's wheel chair wheeled up next to him, while the rest of us sat on the floor. Leah and I were separated with our brothers between us, trying not to acknowledge the awkward tension that was between us. "Where at?" her mother continued, giving me an expectant look as Chief turned his head towards me, his tail thumping when he realized that there was food in reach of him.

"Newton's Olympic Outfitters," I answered as I placed one of my ribs on my plate. "It's a pretty easy job."

"That's good," Harry nodded in agreement before he picked up one of his many ribs, cracking a smile before he used his pinky to move his silver-white hair behind his ear, making sure that it didn't get covered in barbeque sauce. "Bet you see a lot of familiar faces there."

I shrugged. "Not really. I mean, it's not really the busy time of the year so we get maybe…one or two people a day? Even then, they basically come in to buy candy, not any of the gear. I did see Paul Lahote though…on Monday, I think it was." _Though he was acting totally crazy._

Billy nodded. "Paul Lahote's a good kid. I'm glad Sam was able to reach him and turn him around, help him use his intimidating size for good."

Jake snorted. "Not likely," he muttered under his breath.

"Son," Billy said, turning to look at his kid with a glare, "Sam's doing the reservation a good service. You might not understand it, but Embry sure as hell does, and I can bet my money you're going to understand it someday."

"Not likely," he repeated. "Sam gives me the creeps. I don't know why you stick up for him; he practically acts like a bully _just_ to get his way, even if his way is a good way. Seriously, why do you love him so much?"

Billy opened his mouth to speak but Harry cleared his throat. "Jacob Ephraim Black, you will _not_ speak of Sam like that. He is a decent boy and he's looking out for everyone on the reservation. Bite your tongue the next time you decide to speak ill about him in my presence."

Jake's eyes widened and he muttered an "okay" that he stretched out before he reached for his ribs, chewing on the meat as he glanced at Leah, wondering if his words about her boyfriend harmed her in any way. Leah, on the other hand, only shrugged before she went back to her own food, glancing at Billy and Harry who shared a knowledgeable look with one another.

A minute passed before Dad cleared his throat, hoping to break the awkward silence. "So there's a new doctor in town. He's really good. Met with him on Thursday."

"What's his name?" Billy asked a bit gruffly, raising an eyebrow.

"Dr. Cullen. He's really nice, too. Postponed a routine surgery just to meet me. I told him he didn't have to, but he did, just so I could get to know the doctor."

Harry and Billy shared another look with one another before Harry shook his head. "I've met him; he's not that nice."

"You've got to be kidding me!" Dad defended, his eyes almost bulging out of its sockets. "He's got to be _the _nicest guy I've met."

"I doubt I'll go to the hospital in Forks," Billy added with a shrug. "I personally think he, along with the other doctors, are horrible. I do not want them to operate on me or on any of my family members."

"Here, here," Harry agreed.

Dad stood up, placing his plate in his seat. "I can't believe it. Boycotting the hospital because of _one_ doctor?"

"Not one, all," Billy clarified.

"Right, it sure sounds like it. Come on, guys, we're going home."

Well, it seemed Dad was in a no nonsense mood.

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><p><strong>AN: Man, I had fun writing this chapter, though it did take me awhile, haha.**

**Remember, any questions you have for me, I'll gladly answer them so long as I don't find them _too_ spoilerish. I can't reveal everything, right? :P**

**Next chapter? Edward's back at school and Bella overhears something at work.**


	6. Chapter 6

**The Twilight Saga is the rightful property of Stephenie Meyer. I only take credit for my own ideas.**

**This chapter is dedicated to Vanguard of Light for leaving such a long review that made me smile. Want a chapter dedicated to you? Try and make me smile. :)**

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><p><strong>Chapter Six<strong>

The dark and ominous clouds loomed overhead, threatening to release any precipitation at any given minute, as I drove to the school in my newly acquired truck, pleased for two different reasons. One? It was good to be able to drive myself to school even if it was raining; Dad had always insisted that if it looked like it was going to rain, he'd drop me off. The second reason was because _finally_ I could stop listening to my old man go on and on about when Jake would be finished with my truck.

With a smile I turned into the familiar parking lot, my eyes scanning over the rows of cars to see where I could find a parking spot. Surprisingly, a silver Volvo caught my eye, and I raised my eyebrow as I passed it.

Did this mean Edward was back? Alice had been getting picked up, and dropped off, by a rather large jeep the past week, so it was a surprise to see the Volvo back in the parking lot.

Shaking my head, I pulled into an empty spot that happened to be a good walking distance, but still not the farthest one out from the building, turning off the engine as soon as I felt, and heard, a low buzz in the back of my pocket.

"_California girls, we're unforgettable. Daisy dukes, bikini's on top,"_ someone started to sing in a voice that was eerily similar to Katy Perry's in my truck, causing me to jump as I was startled at the sudden noise.

Realization dawned on me and I quickly fumbled for my phone, noticing that I had a text message from Jake. I opened the message just as Katy sang _"West-coast represent", _causing my phone to stop singing at me as I read the, thankfully, grammatically correct text from my friend.

_It sucks that our parents are on the outs. Billy's probably going to ban me from your house until they make up, which sucks, because I like seeing you._

With a sigh I hit the reply button, letting my fingers hover over the keys on my phone as I tried to think of something to say back.

_It does suck, _I started to write as my windshield started to collect water droplets, the sound of water hitting metal very faint above my head. _Why is your dad against the new doctor, anyway? His kids seem perfectly nice to me._

Pressing the send button, I quickly closed down to my background before I set my phone to vibrate. It would be embarrassing to be in class and have everyone stare at me while my phone sang "California Gurls" to all of the students, and to Mr. Banner. Slipping my phone back into my pocket, I grabbed my backpack, which was light, since I only had a couple of notebooks in there, as I opened my door, grabbing my keys before I hopped out.

Making sure I locked the door behind me, I headed into the school, walking down one of the corridors that was lined with beige lockers, stopping at the one I knew belonged to me. After turning the lock to my combination, I opened it with a clang (because these lockers were so old they made a noise as you opened them) and grabbed my Biology book from the stack of books I had inside of it. Glancing at the pictures I had on the door, I smiled to myself when I saw the one of me in a, shockingly enough, blue bikini as Mike chased me with a water gun, a shit-eating grin on his face as I tried to run away from him. Above it was a photo of us girls, Lauren and Jessica were doing, unfortunately, the duck face while Angela and I just looked like normal girls, smiling as someone, I think it was Eric, took the picture. Next to that was the one of me with Jake, Embry and Quil at his garage, though it was just our faces as Quil did his best to take the picture himself.

Looking at Embry, I tried to imagine the boy without the shoulder-length hair. Why was he hanging out with Sam now? Why did he cut his hair? I thought he loved the way it was?

Shaking my head of these thoughts, I closed my locker and turned on my heel, heading towards the Biology classroom. As soon as I walked in, Mr. Banner gave me my usual greeting and, as I turned towards my desk, I noticed that Edward Cullen was already sitting there, a small smile on his lips as he noticed me looking at him.

_Wow, he is here, _I thought as I walked towards our station, dropping my book on the table, I sat on my stool and opened my book to the page that was written on the board, not trying to pay attention to the guy next to me.

Try as I might, however, I could feel him looking at me. Turning to face him, I raised an eyebrow. "What's the problem?" I asked with a shrug. "Something on my face? Do I have a tangle in my hair?"

"No, no," he shook his head with a chuckle, "I just wanted to formerly introduce myself. I'm Edward Cullen, you are?"

"Bella Swan," I said before turning back to my book. "Everyone knew who you were on your first day, I'm sure they wouldn't forget it a week after."

"I see," he said, pursing his lips.

"Besides, you already introduced yourself to me last week, remember?" I asked in a teasing tone.

He sighed and ran a hand through his untamed hair. "Yes, I do. I was merely being considerate seeing as I had to leave abruptly. Visited family in Alaska."

"Close family?"

"Close enough," he answered with a shrug. "What about you, Bella? Where are you from?"

"Here," I answered simply. "My mom is from California, though. I used to visit my Grandma Marie before she…well…passed."

"Sorry to hear that," Edward said in a genuine tone, a small smile on his lips. "Was it recent?"

"No. About five years ago," I answered with a shrug. "I only visited her once a year, so I didn't really know her, but it took a lot out of my mom. Had to help her get on her feet and all," I said just as I felt my pocket vibrate again, signaling that Jake had responded to my text. Pulling out my phone, I clicked open the message.

_No idea, really. He's just being cryptic and crap. Saying stuff like "you shouldn't hang around the hospital" or "you'll understand soon enough". Driving me fucking insane. Anyway, I saw Embry earlier, but he's avoiding me like I've got a horrible disease or something. I want to talk to Quil, but I haven't seen him yet._

Pursing my lips, I quickly typed up a reply, thankful that the bell hadn't rang yet. _Wow. Your dad is kind of weird, you know that, right? Sorry to hear about Embry, though. You and Quil need to stick together if you want to get him back. It's probably just a phase or something._

Closing my phone, I tucked it back into my pocket before I turned to Edward, giving an apologetic smile. "Sorry, my friend was just wondering about me."

"A friend, hmm?" he asked. "I assume you have many friends?"

"Not _that _many, but I do have a few, yes."

"What about a boyfriend?"

My lip twitched. _Why would he want to know _that_? _"No, no boyfriend," I answered. "Not from lack of attention, though. Plenty of people have shown that they would like to be my boyfriend."

"And so they should," Edward said, a smile tugging at his lips. "You're a beautiful girl, Bella. I'm actually surprised you don't have a boyfriend. I'm sure you just got out of a relationship, hmm?"

I shook my head. "No. I've never been in a relationship before." _Why is he questioning me about it? Wait…does he…does he _know_?_

"Such a shame, really," he sighed. "I hope you don't find it terribly rude of me if I were to…attempt to court you, would you?"

"Court me?" I asked. _Why does this guy talk like he's from the 1800's? _"You mean…date me?"

"Yes, I do. Not right away, obviously, but I would like to prove to you that I am, or should be, worthy of your affection. You can decline now, if you so choose, but just know that I _will_ make it worth your while."

The bell rang just as I furrowed my brow in confusion. _Was this guy serious? Did he really want to date me? _

_Give him a chance, Bella. After all, it would be good to be seen with a boy this handsome._

But I'm not attracted to him! Yes, he's good-looking, but shouldn't I find him attractive?

_You will, Bella. Give yourself some time. _

Oh, alright. I'm telling you, though, it won't work.

"You can…try, I guess," I whispered with a shrug, listening as Mr. Banner called the class to order.

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><p>"Is it true?" Jessica asked as she tugged on my arm while I <em>tried <em>to make my way to my locker, stopping in the middle of the hallway to turn to her. "Is it?"

"Is what true?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That you and Edward Cullen are dating. Is it?"

_How in the world did she kn—wait, this _is_ Jessica we're talking about. Of course she would already know. _I shrugged as I started to walk again, Jessica following my step with an expectant expression, like I was about to tell her the hugest secret in the world. "We're not dating but…he wants to date me."

"And you said _no_? How could you?" she asked, obviously appalled that we _weren't_ dating. "He's a great catch and you said _no_!"

"I never said no!" I shot back as we walked down the hall, chuckling as I stopped at my locker. "He wants to…how did he put it…attempt to court me? I don't know, and I'm kind of curious as to how he's going to do it."

"Hmm," she mused as she leaned against the lockers. "I bet he's going to buy you roses. Oooh! Or maybe chocolates! Or a big giant stuffed teddy bear!"

I rolled my eyes as I opened my locker. "Really, Jess? I think you watch a bit too many romantic comedies."

"Hey, those things work for me," she laughed with a shrug. "Well, I guess I'll talk to you later. You've got work, right?"

"Yeah, unfortunately. Talk to you later, Jess," I said as I placed my books in my locker before I closed it shut, walking passed her as I made my way out of the school building.

As soon as I stepped out, however, I noticed that it was pouring down with rain, puddles collecting all over the parking lot. I groaned as I realized I didn't have an umbrella, or a jacket, and that I should've been smart enough to bring one before I heard someone clear their throat from behind me.

Turning around, I came face to face with Edward Cullen, his lips tugged upwards into a small smile as his right hand held an umbrella.

"Would you like me to walk you to your car?" he asked politely, opening up his umbrella and holding it up over my head.

"Um…sure…" I said, figuring that this was one of his attempts to court me, before I shrugged. "But my truck is a bit far. You really want to walk me there?"

His smile deepened as he took a step out from under the little awning that was right outside the double doors, the rain dripping onto his hair, and, surprisingly, it maintained its form as he waited for me to step out with him. "Don't worry about me, Bella. I can take care of myself."

"I see," I said simply, walking towards my truck with Edward lingering behind, his umbrella over me at all times, not bothering to cover himself up as his clothes soon became drenched with water. "You should really use your umbrella for yourself, though, Edward. I don't think you'd want to catch pneumonia for being out an entire week already."

"Like I said before," he said as we stopped at my truck, the smile still playing on his lips as he continued to keep the umbrella over me, "I can take care of myself. Might I ask why you chose this as a vehicle, though? It isn't very becoming of a lady."

"My dad picked it out, actually. He thought it would be safer for me to drive than my dirt bike; he's really protective of me and _hates _the fact that I own one."

"A dirt bike, you mean?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "Honestly, I don't see you riding a dirt bike but the idea is…appealing. Maybe you and I could go riding some time?"

I raised my eyebrow in return. "Are you asking me out on a date?"

Edward chuckled before he ran a hand through his hair. "No. I don't think riding on motorcycles is suitable for a date. If I were to ask you out, you would know it, don't worry."

"Hmm," I mused before I shrugged. "Well, this is my stop, so I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"That you will, my dear Bella," he said with a smile, taking a step back as he allowed room for me to open my door. "That you will."

With a nod I opened my truck door and climbed in, giving Edward one small wave before I started my truck and pulled out of the parking lot, heading towards my next destination.

It took me five minutes to get there and as I pulled into the small parking lot that surrounded Newton's Olympic Outfitters, I noticed that Mike had beat me here. Sighing, I stopped my truck and got out, grabbing my vest from the passenger seat and slipping my arms through the sleeves before I got out and headed inside the building, smiling at Mike who was already behind the counter.

"Inventory, again," he said, handing me the clipboard. "We do it every Monday."

"And I automatically do it because…?" I trailed off, raising an eyebrow.

He shrugged. "You did a good job last time. I'll do next week, don't worry."

"Uh-huh, okay," I said, rolling my eyes before I walked down the first aisle just as I heard the bell ring. Shrugging to myself, I continued to do my job as I heard the customers talking amongst themselves in the next aisle. Curiosity got the better of me, so I listened in to hear what they were talking about.

"I'm telling you, Jerry, that was a black bear! It was huge, too! About five or six feet tall!"

"Bears don't get that big, Brandon," his friend, Jerry I assumed, snorted. "Did you pick up some mushrooms while we were hiking, or did you have some peyote before we left?"

"I'm serious!" Brandon exclaimed. "He was _huge_. Scared the shit outta me, too."

"Whatever you say, Brandon," Jerry chuckled, obviously not believing his friend about what he saw. "Let's just get that bear repellent to put you at ease."

So they saw the bear too, huh? That was strange. Maybe I should be more careful when I go dirt bike riding with Jake and the guys. I really don't want to end up face to face with a bear.

As if on cue, I felt the phone in my pocket vibrate and, when I pulled it out, I noticed that it was none other than Jake that texted me.

_So Quil wasn't in class today, but want to know who picked up Embry? Sam. Of course that guy is still messing with Embry. I bet he needs bodyguards or some shit like that. Fuck! Want to go riding or something? I need something to help me blow off some steam._

I chuckled before I hit the reply button. _Jake, it's raining. It's not going to do any good to riding now that the tracks are covered in mud. Besides, I heard that there is a bear in the woods and Dad told me to be careful._

After hitting send, I put the phone in my pocket and continued on with my inventory duties before I felt my phone vibrate again.

_Right. I forgot. Damn. Well, maybe we could go on Friday? I heard that it's supposed to be nice; maybe the trails won't be covered in mud then? And what about bears? There aren't any in Forks, and even if there were, I doubt they'd be interested in a couple of kids on bikes._

_Yeah, I guess you're right. Look, I'm at work but we can go on Friday; I'm off._

_Sweet_, was his reply and, with a smile, I closed my phone and stuffed it back into my pocket.

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><p><strong>AN: And there you have it. This is chapter six. Things are starting to build up now.**

**Remember, any questions you've got for me, leave 'em in a review and I'll get to you; but only if I feel that the answers aren't going to give too much away. I, after all, like to have surprises in store.**

**Next chapter? Bella and Jake go dirt-biking and find more than they bargained for. :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**The Twilight Saga is the rightful property of Stephenie Meyer. I only take credit for my own ideas.**

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><p><strong>Chapter Seven<strong>

Edward lived up to his promise. On Tuesday, he had walked into our Biology class with a rose in his hand, offering it to me with a smile before he took his seat. On Wednesday, he walked in with a sheet of paper and stood in front of me as he recited his own poetry, which was beautiful and romantic, before class started. Thursday? He handed me a CD and that was it, but, when I played it in my truck after school, I soon realized that he recorded himself playing beautiful piano composites, one he named himself, "Bella's Lullaby."

Today really got to me. As if he hadn't been trying enough, five minutes after the bell rang a student walked in, he looked like a freshman, with a bouquet of roses and a giant stuffed teddy bear with a red bow tied around its neck.

I was beginning to seriously question whether it was Valentine's Day or not, but then I remembered that it was late-September, not mid-February.

I had to give him credit; he surprised me. And, although I know he was being incredibly romantic and that he should've swooped me off my feet and carried me off into the sunlight, I still didn't feel _anything _for him.

Maybe it was because there was something wrong with me?

"Bella, sweetie?" Mom asked as she walked in the living room, finding me sitting on the couch when my elbows resting on my knees as I cradled my head in my hands. "Something wrong?"

I shook my head as I gave her a small smile. "No, nothing."

"Are you sure? You look like you're thinking about something. Want to share?" she asked as she sat down next to me, placing her hand on my shoulder firmly as she gave me a comforting smile.

"There's nothing to talk about," I said with a sigh, hoping that my mother would fall for my façade.

Unfortunately, she didn't fall for the act and instead chuckled as she rubbed the spot on my shoulder she was touching. "Bella, honey, how many times have I told you that you're like my open book? I know when something is bothering you and, sweetie, now is one of those times. Come on, you can tell me."

Taking a deep breath, I turned to look at her. "Am I adopted?"

Mom let out a laugh as she shook her head, but I, having adopted the knack for perception from my mother, noticed that her lip twitched, barely and hardly noticeable, but I saw it. "Of course not, sweetie. What brought this on?"

I shrugged. "Nothing really, I just…sometimes I don't feel like I belong in this family. I just…feel like an outcast? It's hard to explain. You and Dad and Chuck all seem grounded and you don't really take risks whereas I like to go out and ride my dirt bike or go hiking even though I _know_ I'm going to get hurt." _Not to mention the fact that I'm _not _attracted to guys. _"I don't even _look_ like you guys, you know?"

"There's a reason for that, Bella," she said, playfully nudging me in the shoulder. "You should be glad you're not like us; we're boring, I know we are. Your father has a weekly routine and he spends his weekends fishing while I spend them gossiping, and you know Chuck is mostly about hanging around with Brice, who I think could be a really bad influence." She sighed then, shaking her head. "Although I might not agree with your choice to hang around with Jake and the guys on those motorcycles, I know it makes you happy and it gives you a thrill. I also might blame your reckless behavior on hanging out with them too much, but I know they're your best friends and they're _good _people."

"What about the fact that I look nothing like you all? My skin is darker, and my hair is darker and…I just don't think I look like Dad that much."

"Trust me, Bella. You're not adopted. I'm sure we have the tape of your birth somewhere around here," she mused as she glanced around the tv stand, looking at the small stack of VCR tapes.

I rolled my eyes. "No, thanks, Mom. I'll take your word for it."

Mom chuckled and patted my knee before she stood up. "Alright, sweetie. By the way, I heard from Nicole that you're dating one of the new kids? Cullen, was their name, right?"

My lips tugged downwards as I grimaced. "You really shouldn't listen to Mrs. Stanley; she's a bigger gossip than her daughter."

"So it's not true, then? Such a shame, she told me he was _quite _the looker."

"Mom!" I groaned, smacking myself in the forehead with my palm. "No—just no."

"Don't worry, sweetie. He's all for you," she said with a wink before she headed to the kitchen. "I'm probably going to run to the market today, would you like to join me?"

"No," I called after her, standing up. "I told Jake I'd meet him at the store so we can go riding. Quil's been sick and Embry's still hanging around with Sam—"

Mom walked in, shaking her head in disapproval. "I'm not sure why everyone thinks he's just a saint; there's something about him I don't like."

"Thank you!" I exclaimed. "That's what Jake and I have been saying this whole time!"

"And you say Embry's hanging around with him now?" Mom asked before shaking her head again. "That Sam…if I didn't know any better, I'd swear he was starting a gang or something."

I nodded in agreement. _Especially since they all have matching tattoos, it seemed. _"Well, I'm heading out."

"Alright, honey, have fun," Mom said as she waved me off.

After I waved back, I headed out the front door and grabbed my bike from the garage before I gunned it to life, heading to the store that I worked at. The distance between Jake's house and mine took about thirty minutes, so, whenever we decided to go riding, we'd always meet up at the track (which, really, was just a bunch of dirt roads that we called the track), but, considering I worked at a place that was in between La Push and the track, we figured we'd meet at Newton's Olympic Outfitters.

Of course, once I got there, I did go inside to get myself a candy bar; Twix, to be more precise.

"Jeez, Bella," Mike noted as I placed the Twix bar on the counter, reaching into my pocket for the five dollar bill I had put in there during lunch. "Did you grow an inch or something?"

"What?" I asked as I handed him the bill, my brow furrowed in confusion.

"You look like you're taller. Not by much, but you look like you're the same height as me, now. Weren't you like an inch or two shorter?"

Pursing my lips, I noticed what he was referring to. It was weird that I could see the top of his head because, normally, I could only see the dirty blonde hair of his that was either at the back of his head or hung down a bit on his forehead. Now, however, I could see the hairline and I could see where it stopped and, looking down at my legs, I noticed that about an inch of my skin was showing.

Huh. Maybe I did grow some.

I shrugged. "I guess so. Haven't really noticed before now."

"Well, I noticed," Mike chuckled as he handed me my change. "What are you doing here, anyway? Isn't it your day off?"

"Yeah," I started as I stuffed my change into my pocket before I opened my Twix bar, breaking off a piece of it and popping it into my mouth. After savoring the flavor, because, really, whoever made Twix was a _genius_, I swallowed the piece of it before I continued. "I'm actually meeting Jake here. We're going to ride our bikes."

"Speak of the devil," Mike nodded towards the doors and just as I turned around I noticed that Jake opened the glass door harshly, his feet stomping towards me as he shook his head. "Dude, what's wrong?"

Jake only shook his head again, but he turned to me. "Quil…he joined _them_."

"What? Who?" I asked before it dawned on me. "You mean—"

"Yeah, I do. I was all happy about leaving school today, you know? Excited to spend time with you, when I saw Embry walking over towards Sam. Only Sam wasn't alone today. Quil was next to him, wearing a wife beater or something, because my eyes were on his shoulder. He has the same fucking tattoo as them, Bella. What the fuck is Sam _doing_ to them?"

"Uley?" Mike asked. "Man, when I was on the beach on Wednesday with Jessica, we saw this guy trying to sell crystal meth to a bunch of kids but then Sam swooped in and told him to leave. I'm surprised the dude left but…Jess said she had a good look at Sam's face and well…anybody would've been afraid of that."

"Your point?" Jake asked. "I don't think I was even asking for your opinion, buddy. You eavesdropped on a conversation Bella and I were having."

Moving my hand towards Jake's shoulder, I shook my head. "Jake, Mike's just trying to say that maybe Sam is a good guy." I turned to Mike. "Right Mike?"

Mike looked confused for a second before he nodded fervently. "Yeah, man. I don't think Sam's a bad guy, not at all. I mean, he was trying to keep the beach clean. Only a good guy, would do that, right?"

Jake snorted. "Or a guy who wanted to sell his own product on the rez."

"No, Jake, maybe he's right. Look, there's something Sam, Quil and Embry share, you know? Maybe he's just trying to help them, act like a father figure since Quil or Embry don't have one."

"Ooh, yeah, that sounds like it could be it," Mike agreed but, when I shot him a glare he raised his hands up defensively. "I'm just going to…check on some stuff," he said before he disappeared into the aisles, leaving Jake and I alone.

Jake took a deep breath. "Maybe," he said, looking up at me, "but what about Paul and Jared? I mean, yeah, Jared was Sam's best friend but Paul? He hated his fucking guts; you and I both know that. And I doubt Embry and Quil would want to hang out with Sam _and_ Paul. They hated Paul almost as much as Paul hated Sam."

I shrugged. "I don't know what to tell you, Jake. People do change, you know."

"Yeah but…so quickly?"

"Well, look at us," I said, pointing to him. "You've changed. You're taller and buffer than you were at the beginning of the school year and me, well…I've grown an inch since you last me."

"Damn, really?" he asked, looking me up and down. "Didn't we just see each other last week, though? Can you grown an inch in a week?"

"I have no clue," I said with a shrug. "So, do you want to go to the track now?"

"Definitely."

With that, we headed out of the store and hopped onto our bikes, eagerly driving to our riding track. Once we got there, Jake, being himself, of course, wanted to go for a race and, without giving me any time to protest, he zoomed past me and headed down the long stretch of dirt road. Sighing, I followed after him, watching as he drifted with the turn before disappearing along the curve.

As soon as I made the same turn, however, I noticed he was nowhere in sight, which was odd, because the road went straight for about a mile. Pursing my lips, I cut off the engine, surprised to find out that I _couldn't_ hear the sound of his engine, which most likely meant something had happened to him.

"Jake?" I called out, looking around me to see if I could find the missing boy. The trees on my left rustled a bit, the bushes swaying and, as I turned to look at them, I caught the sight of black fur before it disappeared further into the brush. My eyes widened as I realized that I just saw the black bear and I prayed to God that Jake wasn't mauled by it. "Jake?" I called out again, louder this time and, the rustle came from behind me before I felt a pair of hands on my shoulders.

"Boo!" he called out and, when I turned around to glare at him, he only chuckled. "Jeez, Bella. It was just a joke. Can you not take those anymore?"

"It's not a joke when there's a black bear in the woods!" I said, smacking him on his arm.

He laughed and rolled his eyes. "There isn't _anything_ in these woods, Bella. You're just making things up."

"No, I _saw_ it. I'm not the only one." Okay, so I didn't actually see it, but I saw the fur. "We need to be careful, Jake. One of us could end up mauled by it."

"Sure, sure," he said, rolling his eyes again.

As soon as he said those words, a low growl echoed around us, causing Jake to let out a tiny whimper.

"Shit, there actually _is_ something," he muttered as he stepped closer to me. "Bad time to hide the bike in the woods, Jake. Bad time."

"Hurry and get it before the bear pops the tire!" I waved him off. "We need to get out of here. _Now_."

He nodded in agreement and ran off behind when not two seconds later he was running back with his bike, his eyes cautious as he looked at the trees to our right, the same direction I was looking at. A shiver rolled down my spine as I felt like someone was watching me, and Jake let out a grimace.

"What's wrong? You don't like bears?" I asked with a chuckle.

"No," he said, grimacing once more. "I'm not feeling too hot."

"Really?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I think there's something going around on the rez, like a stomach virus or something, so it should pass tomorrow. But I should probably get home so you don't see anything you don't want to see."

"Well, we should do this again, okay Jake?" I asked. "Maybe after the bear situation is under control?"

"Sure, sure," he muttered as he got on his bike. "I'll talk to you later, alright?"

I waved to him before he left, watching him disappear when I felt a presence behind me. Turning around to see who it was, I noticed Quil was standing just outside the trees, his lips pursed as he looked at me and I looked at him.

He looked taller, probably standing about six foot three, and he was buffer, his arms crossed tight over his chest as his expression remained neutral. He only had a black wife beater and a pair of basketball shorts on and I swallowed a lump in my throat when I noticed the tattoo on his right shoulder.

Jake was right. Quil did join Sam.

"Hey, Quil," I said with a smile.

"Hey," he said, though his words were tense. "Look, I need to tell you something but you have to promise not to get mad."

"What? You want to tell me you joined Sam's side? Too late; Jake beat you to the punch," I said, rolling my eyes before I turned around, getting ready to start my bike up.

He was in front of me all of a sudden, his hand on my handle bar as he looked at me. "No, you need to dump Edward Cullen. Straight away."

"Wh—"

"No, you _need_ to. There's no question about it. And don't hang out with his sister, either. They're bad news."

With that, he walked back towards the trees, disappearing before my eyes.

Stay away from the Cullens? Why in the world would they want me to do that?

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><p><strong>AN: I feel so bad. It's been awhile since I updated. I've been busy with tumblr, it's very distracting, haha.**

**Good news is, we're getting close to the good stuff. I'm sure you're all waiting for that, right. :)**

**Leave me a review and I'll thank you for it; ask me a question and I just might answer. ;)**


	8. Chapter 8

**The Twilight Saga is the rightful property of Stephenie Meyer. I only take credit for my own ideas.**

**This chapter is dedicated to Nenarae for her well thought-out review that made me jump for joy in my seat.  
><strong>

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><p><strong>Chapter Eight<strong>

The only sound that was heard in the kitchen was the scraping of forks on plates as Chuck and I _devoured _our waffles, because Mom could make some mean Belgian Waffles, and the occasional sound of paper rustling as Dad flipped pages in his newspaper.

I couldn't lie; the silence was good for a change. Chuck wasn't being his normal annoying self and Dad wasn't try to tell a joke that _wasn't_ funny and Mom wasn't trying to make civil conversation while the rest of us stuffed our faces with food.

A shrill ring broke through the silence in the room, causing Chuck to jump at the sudden sound (I had to laugh at that) before Mom hurried to grab the phone that was hanging on the hook.

"Hello, Swan residence," she answered in her usual tone, looking at her nails as if she figured it wasn't important. Her mouth twisted to the side before she turned to Dad. "Charlie, it's for you."

Dad furrowed his brow in confusion but quickly stood up and reached for the phone, holding it to his ear. "Hello," he greeted before he froze. "You've got to be kidding me. Alright, alright. I'll be down there soon. Yeah." He placed the phone on the hook and shook his head. "Don't fucking believe it."

"Whoa, Dad used a swear word," my brother chuckled, nudging me in the side with his elbow as he hoped that I would join in him laughing.

I didn't. Instead I noted Dad's expression, worried and confused and…something else. "What's wrong?"

Dad just shook his head. "A hiker was found dead, animal tracks were near it. Mark and I are going to look around the crime scene. I'm going to take Chief with me so that we can try to find the bear at its den."

"You think the bear did it?" Mom asked, placing her hand on Dad's shoulder. "Is it possible?"

"Bears are big, Renée. I'm sure if provoked or if they don't like the look of you, they could attack. Now, we aren't entirely sure, but it looks like it might be a bear attack, considering we got a call about a bear a while ago."

I nodded. "There were a couple of guys at the store and one of them said he saw the bear. And," I took my bottom lip between my teeth, wondering if it would be wise for me to tell them that I saw it to. Releasing my lip with a sigh, I decided to continue. "Jake and I went riding on Friday and I _think_ saw one there."

"Isabella Marie!" Dad exclaimed.

"Someone's getting into _trouble_," Chuck said in a sing-song voice.

"Come on, Chuck, let's get ready," Mom said, ushering her son out of the room as she looked at Dad and mouthed "be nice" before disappearing into the other room.

"Dad, I—"

"I don't want to hear it, Bella. You deliberately disobeyed my orders. I _told_ you not to ride your bike anymore!"

Something inside of me snapped. Maybe it was the fact that my Dad was yelling at me and I was still, technically, a teenager, but all of a sudden I had this intense desire to yell right back at him.

Slowly I stood up, glaring at my father. "Dad, I am an _adult._ Yes, I know you _told _me to stay away from the woods and to not ride my bike but I wasn't _in_ the woods. Jake and I _never_ ride our bikes in the woods. Our track? Just some dirt roads that lead to houses in between Forks and La Push. It's not like there are tons of jumps and potholes and all that crap that could eventually pose a problem to me, alright? I _know_ I'm a horrible klutz, but I do try to be careful. And yes, I know you didn't want me to ride my bike with that bear in the woods but, really, I figured bears would be afraid of the sound of the engine to mess with us!"

Dad's jaw was tight before he shook his head. "The point is moot. You disobeyed an order from me, your father, and I don't care if your eighteen years old or eighty, so long as you live under my roof, you _should _obey my rules."

"Rules that you make to protect me, right?" I asked, crossing my arms and, when he nodded, I continued. "Dad, I told you this before. I'm an adult. I'm eighteen, I have a job, I _don't_ do drugs and best of all I love my family. Is it wrong that I can't have fun? That I can't ride my dirt bike without hearing backlash from my father?"

"Look, Bella, I understand that but I expect you to follow the rules, especially since Billy and I aren't on speaking terms," he said, crossing his own arms. "I figured you would respect my rules enough to follow them, or, at the very least, talk to me about them if you don't agree with those that I set for you."

"You expect me to stop seeing Jake because you and Billy are having a little spat?" I asked before I scoffed. "Come on, Dad. Jake and I have been friends for _years_ and just because our parents aren't speaking, we aren't going to choose sides."

Dad raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

"Yes, Dad. You can't tell me who I can be friends with or not. Now, I'd understand if he were a drug dealer or an axe murderer but it's _Jake_ we're talking about. Yes, we both went riding and yes, I _did _see the bear, but we didn't get hurt. We were barely there, anyway, because Jake was starting to feel bad. I just…he's been in a sour mood after Quil and Embry ditched him for Sam."

"Yeah, I heard about that," Dad said with a nod. "I also heard that Sam kept the beach clean. I don't think he's a bad guy, Bella."

"Neither do I, but you don't just ditch your friends to hang out with a guy you've barely said two words to." Shaking my head with a sigh, I headed out of the kitchen. "I'm going to school now, alright?"

"Right, have fun," Dad mumbled.

As soon as I walked out of the house and into my truck, I reached for my phone and dialed Jake's number, putting the phone to my ear as I sat back against the driver's seat.

It took three rings before I heard Jake pick up, his tone groggy and his words incoherent before he cleared his throat and answered with "_hello?_"

"Hey, Jake, it's Bella," I said, smiling even though I knew he wouldn't be able to see me. "How're you feeling? Get over the virus?"

"_Er, uh, yeah. Yeah, I did. Feel great, even. Why are you calling? It's early."_

"Well, one, it's a school day Mr. Black, you should be up, and two, Dad got pissed that we were hanging out. Apparently since he and Billy are having a fight we can't hang out. Isn't that weird?"

"_Yeah, it's uh…weird. But maybe he's got a point. You probably shouldn't hang out here anymore."_

"What? Why?"

Jake sighed. _"It's…nothing personal, alright? I just don't want you to get the…virus. Yeah. I'd hate knowing that you'd get sick."_

"Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but I've been exposed to you and if I were going to get it, I'm sure I'd have had it by now," I chuckled. "You can't honestly expect me to not come down there. I thought we were friends."

"_We were."_

"Jake…"

"_I can't talk about this, Bella. I've got to get ready for school. Goodbye."_

The sound of the phone clicking only got me mad. Why was Jake acting like that? Why did he tell me goodbye like he meant goodbye for eternity? It wasn't right.

Of course, that wasn't the only thing my mind caught when we talked. His voice sounded…deeper. Almost like he had aged over the weekend, stress heavily influencing his voice.

What was going on with him that would make him so stressed? Maybe it was the fact that he lost his friends to Sam, or maybe he was dealing with his father's words that didn't make any sense to him.

Regardless, I knew one thing for sure. I was going down to La Push once school got out.

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><p>After stuffing my books into my locker, I closed it to reveal that Edward was standing behind the locker door, almost causing me to jump because I hadn't expected to see him there. Once I had regained composure, I gave him a smile as I tightened my grip on the backpack strap, glad that I only had one book in there.<p>

"Hi," I said. "What are you doing here? Going to serenade me now?"

He chuckled. "No, no. I think I've overstepped my boundaries, truthfully. I would just like to ask you out on a date this Saturday night." I opened my mouth to speak but he put his fingers over my lips, and, when I closed my mouth, he pulled back. "Now, you don't have to answer right away, I don't expect that, but I would appreciate it if you would let me know by say…Friday, at the latest?"

Did I really want to go on a date with Edward? I mean, yeah he was sweet and he obviously had a romantic side to him but, unfortunately, I wasn't attracted to him.

_Just say yes, what's the worst that could happen?_

He tries to kiss me and then when we do kiss I puke on him?

_You're exaggerating, Bella. Trust me, it won't be that bad._

Says you.

_And I am you, so trust me._

Pursing my lips I looked at Edward and nodded. "Okay, I'll let you know then."

"Great," he said, his lips tugging upwards in a smile before it slowly started to disappear. "Something wrong, Bella?"

"What? No, of course not," I answered, chuckling to hide the panic. Oh, my God. Did he know? How could he have known? Did he catch me checking out his sister? "Why-why would you ask?" Jeez, Bella, smooth move. Try to be a bit more composed next time, alright?

Edward merely shrugged. "You just seem like you have something on your mind. Maybe I'm wrong."

"You sound like you're good at reading people," I said as I started to walk towards the double doors.

He walked with me, side by side, and chuckled at my remark. "Usually I am, but with you…it's different."

"I don't know why," I shrugged. "My mom always calls me her open book. But yeah, there is something on my mind."

"Would it be too much of a bother to ask what it is?" he asked. "I could possibly be of some help, or, maybe just letting it all out into the open will help you?"

I ran a hand through my hair and sighed. "It's just…it's my friend, Jake. He's kind of avoiding me and he said we can't hang out anymore which is really weird."

"I see," he mused. "This Jake, is he a close friend?"

"Yeah, I've known him since forever."

"And, does he…like you?"

"Well, I mean, he should, because we're friends. You have to like someone for them to be your friend, right?"

Edward chuckled and shook his head as he opened the double doors for us, revealing the grey clouds that hovered in the sky. "Yes, that is correct, but that isn't what I was referring to. I was trying to ask if your friend liked you in a manner that is above friendship. Does he have feelings for you?"

"Yeah, he does," I sighed. "I mean, I've let him down gently and he's okay with it but…"

"Bella, no guy is okay with it when a girl he likes lets him down, no matter how gently they might've done so," Edward said, pressing his hand onto my shoulder soothingly. "He's probably hurting; he spends so much time with the girl he likes and he hopes she would end up liking him back but he knows that that is an impossibility. It can hurt a guy's ego."

"I know, but to cut all ties with me?"

"He might need time to get used to the idea that you will never be his," Edward suggested with a shrug before we found ourselves in front of my truck. "May I ask you another question, though?"

I nodded. "Go ahead."

"What is Jake's full name?"

"Jacob Ephraim Black," I said, chuckling. "Why do you want to know?"

Edward's lip twitched before he shook his head with a smile. "I was curious. There was no reason behind it. Do me a favor, though? Don't hang out with him anymore."

Why would that be a favor to him? "Um…okay."

"For Jacob's sake. It might hurt him to see you while he is dealing with the wounds you left him," Edward said before he looked at the sky. "Be careful while you drive, too. It looks like it's going to rain."

I gave him a nod before I unlocked my truck. "Thanks…you too."

"I'll talk to you later," he said with a smile. "I hope you consider my proposal." With that, he headed towards his Volvo, his sister leaning against the car as she looked at me with her lips pursed.

What was _that_ about?

Ignoring the look that Alice was giving me, I got into my truck and started up the engine, glancing at the dashboard to see if I would need to get gas. When I noticed I had about half of a tank left, I decided I would get gas on my way back from Jake's; maybe before I got Subway, hadn't had any in a while.

As I made the forty minute drive to La Push, rain started to sprinkle onto my windshield. It didn't bother me, I could see through some water on the windshield, but then it started to collect, so I figured it would be better for me to turn my wipers on to the lowest setting.

Slowly I pulled up the road that led to Jake's house, trying to look through my windshield as I noticed a figure walking out of his house, closing the screen door behind him before he headed towards the trees.

From what I could see, it looked like Jake, but it also _didn't_ look like Jake. It was too tall to be him, standing higher than I remember, and he was wearing no fucking shirt in the rain.

As I stopped my truck, my eyes caught sight of the black ink on his right shoulder as he turned away from where I was. A gasp escaped my mouth as I realized what this meant.

He had joined the dark side.

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><p><strong>AN: You don't know how proud I was to write that. My first cliffhanger of the story. Yay me.**

**I deeply apologize for the lack of updates but I've been busy roleplaying on tumblr, which is so much fun, to write. The current chapter I'm writing isn't even finished yet, I've still got a bit to go, but I figured I should give this to you all as an apology.**

**Also, school is going to be starting up next week. Sucks, I know but...well, just a fair warning that I won't be updating as frequently as I have done so in the past.**

**With that said and done, I bid you adieu and remember, any questions you have, leave them in the review and I just _might_ answer them. ;)**


	9. Chapter 9

**The Twilight Saga is the rightful property of Stephenie Meyer. I only take credit for my own ideas.**

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><p><strong>Chapter Nine<strong>

He must've heard the sound of me cutting the engine off since he turned around, glaring in the direction of my truck. Taking a deep breath, because I knew I _had _to get some answers, I opened my door and stepped out of the vehicle, ignoring the feel of the rain drops as they hit my head.

"What happened?" I asked when I stopped in front of him, about two feet away, and that's when I saw it.

His long black hair was now cut short, about an inch long as opposed to the three feet length it had been. (Well, I might be exaggerating, but it was long). There was a bit of stubble covering his jawline, his teeth clenched together as he watched me looking at him, his hands curled into fists at his sides.

There was something about him I couldn't quite make out, but I knew that he looked…angry and almost dangerous.

"Why'd you cut your hair off? Why'd you get a tattoo?" I asked as the rain started to pick up. Just fucking brilliant.

Jake ignored me, glancing at his tattoo before he looked back at me. "Go away," he muttered before he turned around, his body facing the tree line.

_Oh, he was _not _going to step away without talking to me_. Quickly I reached to grab his arm, my hand finding a grip on his wrist. "Not before you talk to me," I said, trying to pull him back towards me, only I _couldn't_.

He remained almost as still as a statue, his back to me as the rain dripped onto his short hair, falling down his forehead and onto his cheeks as he looked over his shoulders to glare at me. "Bella, you shouldn't be here," he said, his voice trembling with something I couldn't quite grasp. Almost like fear? But what was he afraid of? "You need to leave. Now."

"No, Jake," I said, shaking my head. "Talk to me. What happened?"

"I _can't_," he murmured, his eyes flashing with concern before he shook his head. "You don't understand Bella, you can't understand." He cleared his throat and looked at me. "You just…can't," he whispered this time as his eyes trailed up and down my body.

Ugh, gross. Was he seriously trying to undress me with his eyes right now? Okay, so maybe wearing a white shirt today _wasn't_ the best idea, but at least I had a bra on underneath. "Help me understand, Jake. What's going on?"

"I want to tell you," he said before he shook his head once more. "But I can't."

"Why not?"

"Sam—"

"Oh, of _course_," I said as I put my hands on my hips. "Of course it's Sam. I mean, you've got the same tattoo, you cut off all of your hair and you're just about as tall as them. What is going on with Sam? Did he get you hooked on drugs? Did he recruit you for a gang? What is it about him that's got you to join him?"

"Look, it's not what you think, Bella," Jake said, his eyes flickering back up to look me in the eye, his jaw tight before he shook his head _again_. Seriously? What was it with him shaking his damn head? "Sam's trying to help me."

I scoffed. "Help you _how_? Did he start a "dead parent's society" and that's why you, and Quil and Embry, joined him? You and I both know that Jared and Paul have both of their parents, so that is not the case. Besides, when did _you _ever _like_ Sam? I thought you hated his _guts_?"

He took a deep breath. "I misunderstood Sam, is all."

"And now you understand him?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "That's a load of bull, Jake. What? Is he actually a decent guy? He's not trying to break apart friendships?"

"He's _not_," he seethed, his clenched hands starting to shake a bit. "_Don't_ talk about him like that. You don't know what he's doing."

"You're starting to sound a lot like your dad, Jake," I said, shaking my head in disapproval. "The Jake I knew would've fought tooth and nail before he joined Sam and his little…gang."

His lip curled over his teeth, almost as if he was…growling? "You don't get it, Bella. I fought, I did, but Sam helped. Now you need to go back to your truck and go _away_, or else _both_ of us will end up hurt."

"How, Jake?" I asked, getting frustrated as the rain started to come down harder. _Well_, I thought, _at least I have a jacket in the car. Should've put it on, though. _"How will both of us get hurt?"

"You really want to know?" he almost barked out, the rain making his short hair clump together.

"That's why I asked!" I shouted back, irritated that the rain was making more noise than I wanted it to. Really? Did it have to rain and thunder _while _I was talking to Jake?

"Fine!" he said before his tongue darted out to lick his lips, most likely trying to get the rain water off of them. "You're going to hurt me, because you keep dancing around my feelings. You _know_ I care about you, a _lot_, and yet you still toy with me. Sometimes I can't even tell if you like me or not, you send _so _many mixed signals that it confuses me. Every _day_ you hurt me, Bella, because I look at you and I _know_ you're interested me and you say you aren't."

I shook my head. "It's the truth, Jake! I only care about you as a friend, as a brother. Heck, I love you more than my own brother. Just, there's a reason we can't be together, Jake."

He nodded. "It's because I'm breaking ties with you. Starting today, Bella, don't call me, don't text me and _don't_ visit me."

"Jake…"

"No, Bella, I'm done trying to hide my feelings from you. Sam's trying to help me and it would be better for _all _of us if we stopped seeing each other. _Trust_ me." He said before he turned around and took a step closer to the trees, stopping when he looked over his shoulder to whisper "goodbye". As he walked towards the trees, I noticed two figures standing on the outskirts, their lips pursed and their arms crossed over their chest.

It took me a minute for me to recognize that it was Embry and Quil standing there, waiting for their new cohort to join them, while I stood in front of my truck, letting the rain drench my clothes.

Shaking my head, I quickly headed towards my truck and opened my door, climbing in and slamming the door shut. "God damn it, Jake. Why can't you tell me what's going on?" I asked as my hands gripped the steering wheel, my eyes watching as Jake took one last look in my direction before disappearing into the trees with Embry and Quil.

Taking a deep breath, I quickly started the ignition, seeing as I had left the key in there, and began the thirty minute trek _back_ to my house. Well, I'll probably stop at Subway on my way and pick up a sub for Chuck and me, but still, I had a lot to look forward too.

Especially since the clouds were now a mix of grey and black, almost taunting me as the rain pelted my windshield. I had to have my wipers set to the highest setting.

After driving all the way back to Forks, and made a stop at the Subway, I made it to my house just as a streak of lightening cracked through the ominous clouds, the thunder causing the sides of my truck to shake as I pulled into my driveway. Peering at the clouds, I shook my head before I grabbed the sub sandwiches from the passenger seat as my other hand rested on the door handle.

I almost ran to the door, which was dangerous considering who I was, and slipped inside my house, shaking off the rain water that collected in my hair; and there was a lot.

"Jeez, Bella, you aren't Chief," Chuck teased with a laugh. "And last I checked, you weren't a dog...no, wait, you are a bitch. Never mind, continue."

I glared at my younger brother as I shrugged out of my jacket, which I had put on after I got the sandwiches, and hung it up on the coat rack. "Laugh it up, buddy. Here I brought home a sub for you."

He pursed his lips as his eyes went to my hands, noticing the Subway bag before he smiled. "Meatball Marinara?" he asked.

"What kind of fool do you take me for?" I asked with a grin as I walked into the living room, setting down our sandwiches onto the coffee table just as Chuck scooted it closer to the couch, grabbing the remote to change the channel to one we would both agree on; ABC Family.

While we dined on our meatball subs, probably the only kind of food we had the same taste about, we watched as Jackie, being Jackie, acted like a bitch and Kelso acted like the dumbass he was. And, of course, laughing as Red told him how much of a dumbass he was. I love Red.

Just as the next episode started with the theme song of _"Hanging out…down the street…"_ the doorbell rang. Chuck looked up from his sub, marinara sauce dribbling down from his chin and onto the napkin he had tucked into his collar.

"I'll get it," I said as I stood up, grabbing a napkin to wipe my mouth as I walked towards the front door and opened it, only to gasp when I saw who it was. "Leah, what are you doing here?"

Leah stood on my porch with one hand on the door frame, almost as if she was holding onto it for support, her other arm crossed over her chest. She was wearing a light green t-shirt, but, as she stood in the pouring rain, it became slightly darker and a bit see through, her russet color skin peeking through the fabric.

I had to swallow a lump in my throat. Why? She wasn't wearing a bra.

_Calm down, Bella. She's just your friend._

Yeah, just the friend I had been crushing on for the past, oh, I don't know, five years?

_Look at her face, Bella._

And I did. And I gasped as I realized what was wrong.

Her mascara ran down from her eyes and onto her cheeks, her lip quivering as her eyes continued to water, her knees shaking a bit.

"Leah," I breathed, "come in, come in." I grabbed her hand and pulled her inside, closing the door behind her as I watched her shake slightly. "Are you alright? What happened?"

"S-S-Sam…" she stammered through tears before she shook her head.

"Shh," I said as I wrapped my arms around her, trying to keep myself from shivering at her cold touch. How long had she been standing out there? "Take your time," I whispered.

I felt her nod before she rested her head against the top of my own, her arms wrapping around me in a tight embrace.

We stood there for I don't know how long before I heard someone clear their throat, and I looked up to see Chuck standing a couple feet away, a smile on his lips.

"Get a room already, why don't you?"

Although I knew he was joking, I froze and dropped my arms to my side.

Leah noticed this and quickly let go before she sniffled and shook her head. "Can we…sit down?"

I nodded and we walked into the living room, which was only a few steps away from the front door, before we sat down on the couch. I was glad that Chuck was done with his food; I liked being alone with Leah. I always felt…better whenever I was with her.

Of course, it probably had to do with the fact that I had a major crush on her.

_No you don't. You're just admiring her beauty._

Yeah…

"What happened, Leah?" I asked once we were seated, placing my hand against the back of the couch as Leah sat at the edge, leaning over her knees as she ran her hands through her hair. "What did Sam do?"

She took one deep breath before she turned to me, her brown eyes starting to water ever so slightly. "He broke up with me."

"Oh," I said as I scooted closer, placing my hand on her back as I rubbed soothing circles into her shirt. "I'm sorry. Why would he do such a thing?"

"I have _no_ idea," she murmured before she shook her head. "He just…he came over to my house and asked me to take a walk with him; this was before it started to rain, anyway." She paused and bit her lip, looking at her feet before she continued. "He told me that he couldn't help it, but he had to break up with me. He-he wouldn't explain why, he just said he couldn't be with me anymore…and then he left me in the woods."

_That asshole! First he steals my friends and then he breaks my other friend's heart and leaves her standing in the forest. Yeah, he was definitely up to no good. _"Oh, Leah," I wrapped both of my arms around her, trying to suppress my smile as she rested her head against my shoulder. "I'm sorry. Sam…he doesn't realize how great of a girl he let go."

"Re-Really?" she asked, lifting her head up to look me in the eye. "You think so?"

"No," I said, trying to ignore the way her lips tugged downwards, "I know so."

"Th-Thank you, Bella," she said, resting her head against my shoulder again. "For being a good friend."

"Yeah, friend," I murmured.

And that's all we were going to be.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: For the person who asked if this was a Bella/Leah story, of course it is. I don't dive into the romance right away because that's a bit unrealistic, especially when imprinting is involved. I can't have Leah in every chapter either because that too would be unrealistic. Bella has a job, schoolwork, and other friends besides Leah and can't spend all of her free time on the rez. It wouldn't be very realistic to have her go to Leah's house everyday when she has other friends and other priorities. I hope this makes some sense.**

**Next chapter is shorter than what I would like, but hopefully the beginning of it, and the fact that the two following it are longer, will make up for it. Until next time.**


	10. Chapter 10

**The Twilight Saga is the rightful property of Stephenie Meyer. I only take credit for my own ideas.**

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><p><strong>Chapter Ten<strong>

_I sat on the couch, watching That 70's Show while I ate my meatball marinara sub. All I wore was a tank top and a pair of boy shorts, taking advantage of being alone, when I heard a knock on the door. Grabbing my napkin, I sat up and walked towards the door, wiping my mouth just as I opened the door to find Leah standing there, leaning against the door frame with a smirk on her lips._

"_L-Leah?" I asked as I took in her attire. She was wearing a green tank top that was becoming see-through as she stood in the rain, her nipples peeking through the fabric. I swallowed a lump in my throat as my eyes drifted down to her denim shorts…well, if you could call them shorts. They left little to the imagination. "What are you doing here?" I asked as I looked back into her eyes._

_Her smirk only deepened. "You know why," she whispered before she reached over and wrapped her hand behind my neck, pulling me closer to her before I felt her lips on mine._

_I didn't fight it. I melted into her body and let her attack my lips hungrily, her hands reaching around my back to slide under my tank top, leaving a trail of heat as her fingers slowly inched closer towards my bra clasp. A gasp escaped my throat as she moved her mouth to nibble at the spot below my ear, her foot closing the door behind her as she led me back into the living room._

_Goosebumps covered my skin by the time she had me on the couch, her teeth grazing my earlobe before I could feel my bra becoming loose on my shoulders._

"_Leah," I breathed as she pulled off my shirt, my bra coming off almost simultaneously before she pressed her lips back to my mouth, her hands on my shoulders as she pushed me back onto the couch, almost straddling me as her tongue entered my mouth hastily._

_Her hand moved down my body slowly, first stopping at my breasts to pinch my nipples before she continued to go further, her hand slipping under the waist band of my shorts. "Shh," she whispered as I felt her tease my clit. "Let me take care of you."_

Jolting upright, I stared at the wall as I tried to catch my breath, in awe at the _dream_ I just had.

Did I seriously…just have a sex dream? About _Leah_? _Why _would I dream about Leah like _that_?

One thing I knew for sure was that there was a throbbing ache coming from in between my legs, begging for attention. Biting my lip, I listened to see if Chuck was awake or not, looking up at the top bunk as I deliberated on taking care of my problem.

"No…Brice…don't be mean to her…" he muttered before I heard the sound of fabric moving against each other, and I figured that he was shifting around in his sleep.

Once I heard the sound of the fabric dying down, I slipped my hand under the waistband of my sweatpants and under my underwear. God damn, I was already wet.

I bit my lip as I worked myself over, replaying the scene that had happened in my dream but only going further, pretending I hadn't woken up. Closing my eyes, I did my best to suppress a moan as I imagined Leah's hand inside of me, causing me to shiver under her touch.

About a minute later I went over the edge, my chest heaving as I came onto my hand and slowly I pulled my hand out, looking at my clock.

Six o'clock on the dot. Damn it. I'd have to get up.

With a groan I threw my legs over the edge of the bed and walked towards the dresser; Chuck had the closet for his clothes. After I got dressed I walked down the stairs to hear Mom and Dad talking about how he was going out with Chief to find the bear that had killed the hiker.

"But Charlie," Mom started before I heard the sound of a chair scraping against the floor, "it would be dangerous. You could get yourself killed!"

"Now, now, Renée," Dad chuckled. "I'm more than capable of taking care of myself. You know I'll be carrying my gun with me in case the bear decides to come out. Besides," he paused before I heard a giggle coming from Mom, "it wouldn't do me any good to die the day of the Gala, right?"

"Gala?" I asked as I walked around the corner, noticing that my parents were sitting _very_ close to one another. "What Gala?"

"They're having a Gala in Seattle and I was invited. Your mom is my plus one," he said with a smile on his lips, placing his hand on top of Mom's.

Mom nodded. "We're going to get a hotel room for the night and we'll be back tomorrow afternoon."

My eyes widened. "No," I said, shaking my head. "You _can't _leave me here with Chuck. All _alone _with _Chuck_."

"Of course we aren't, sweetie," Mom said with a chuckle. "Your brother is going to spend the night at Collin's. You're allowed to invite some friends over for a sleepover if you want. Maybe invite Leah as well? She could probably use some girl time."

I nodded. "Yeah, that sounds good. I'll…uh…let her know. I'll probably ask the girls if they want to, as well."

"Just no boys, alright?" Dad said, clearing his throat. "I don't want to hear you threw a wild party with _boys _involved."

_Don't worry, Dad. I doubt _that'll _be a problem. _"No boys, got it. Well, I should probably go to school and let everyone know."

After grabbing my jacket from the coat rack, I left the house with my truck keys in hand, looking up at the sky. _Well, _I started to think as I watched the way they moved around each other, _so much for the decent weather we had earlier in the month. _

Once I pulled into the parking lot, I noticed Edward leaning against his Volvo casually, his eyes on my truck with his lips pursed, and a sigh escaped my lips.

_Right. It's Friday._

Friday. The last day of the school week, thank God, but also the day that I had to give a final answer to Edward about a date for tomorrow.

_It wouldn't hurt, Bella. Besides, it would do good to be seen with him._

You've said that before.

_Because it's true._

Taking a deep breath, I parked my truck and opened my door, grabbing my backpack before I stepped out, my feet planting on the concrete before I closed the door. Edward stood up straighter, his eyes on me before I noticed him walking this way. Great.

"Hey, Edward," I said with a smile. "I was just going to head to my locker, if that's okay with you."

Edward nodded. "Sure, I'll follow you."

It was weird, having him follow me silently as we entered the building. It was almost like I had my own stalker or something, and people gave me a wide berth. I wondered why and, when I opened my locker, I noticed that Edward's eyes were…black?

Damn, he had that murderous look to him again. Maybe I shouldn't go on a date with him…

_You _should_. The date is tomorrow, not today._

"So, what's up?" I asked as I grabbed the Biology book from my locker, trying to ignore the way he stood next to me, his body stiff and tense. "Something wrong?"

Edward cracked a smile, his dark eyes seeming less serial killer-like as he did so. "No, nothing's wrong. I was just thinking about how beautiful you look today. You have a certain…glow to you."

"Really?" I asked, furrowing my brow. It took me a second to realize _why_ I had that glow. _Oh, Edward, the reason why it appears I'm glowing is because minutes before I headed out to school, I masturbated to the thought of me and my best friend going at it. Yeah. _

That would bode well for him. "Well, I guess it's just a good day for me," I lied through my teeth, hoping that Edward would either fall for it or that he wouldn't press on the matter anymore, because, really, he didn't need to know I got myself off this morning. "What about you? You seem different as well."

He chuckled under his breath. "Well, I am in the presence of a lovely lady," he said in his fluid voice before he pushed himself off of the lockers, "and I was wondering if she had taken anymore thought to my offer."

I nodded as I shut the locker door, cradling the Biology book to my chest as looked at him. "Yeah, I have." I swallowed the lump in my throat, hoping that this would give me just enough time to figure out if I'm going to say yes or no. On the one hand, if I said no, I wouldn't lead him on and make him think that I was actually, genuinely, interested in him and yet, on the other hand, if I said yes, there was a slight chance that the more I hung out with him, the more I'd like him.

With one deep breath, I nodded. "Yeah, I'd love to go on a date with you," I said, putting on a fake smile. "Tomorrow, right?"

"Yes. I figured we could go to a restaurant in Port Angeles? We could meet there?"

"Uh…yeah, sure," I said, smiling, "that sounds fine." Did he not know that it took an hour and a half to get to Port Angeles? Not counting traffic? "What restaurant?"

"La Bella Italia," he chuckled. "I know it's a bit of a coincidence, seeing as your name is Bella, but I've heard nothing but good things about it. We could even get a private booth."

"Y-Yeah, that sounds good," I said, smiling again. A private booth? Was he thinking about planning a move on me? I mean, he didn't seem like that, in fact, he seemed like a perfect gentleman. Although, I guess I understand, considering the fact that most people who are on dates wanted a private booth. "So…I think we should go to our class?"

Edward nodded. "I'll walk with you," he said with a smile. As we walked down the hall I noticed that he kept looking at me with this strange expression and, when I stopped in the middle of walking, I raised an eyebrow at him. "What?" he asked.

"You tell me," I half-snorted, raising an eyebrow. "You're the one staring at me."

"Oh, I was just noticing something about you," he said with a small smile, before we started to walk once more. "You look like you've gotten taller throughout the week. How tall are you?"

"Uh…five two?" I asked, not sure of myself. Really? That was the second person to tell me that I had gotten taller.

He chuckled. "You sure don't look like it anymore. If I had to guesstimate I'd say you're about…five six? Five seven? Any reason for the sudden growth spurt?"

Whoa, I was four inches taller now? I looked down at my feet, noticing that my ankles were showing before I looked back at Edward, shrugging. "I don't really know. It's actually kind of weird. I mean, I'm eighteen, right? I should stop growing."

Edward pursed his lips before shaking his head. "Perhaps you're just a late bloomer, or maybe it's in your genes. Tell me, do you think either of your parents are from the Quileute tribe? Long lost descendants, perhaps?"

I shook my head. "I don't think so. My mom isn't a Forks native and my dad's great great…well, his ancestors are from Italy or something like that. Why?"

"Merely curious," Edward said with a shrug. "I just happened to notice that, during my trip to the beach over the summer that some of the boys were larger than expected. I figured that if you had Quileute in you, then that would be the reason for your recent growth spurt."

_Wow, he's really thought about this. _"Huh, well I'm pretty sure that I don't have relatives down there," _it would suck if Leah were a relative, though, _"so I'm not sure what it is. Maybe I had giants in my family tree?"

He chuckled as we walked into the classroom, heading towards our station. "That is a possibility," he said as we took our seats, several students whispering behind our backs.

Mr. Banner walked in with a grin, throwing down his notebook onto his desk. "Pop quiz!"

Today was going to be a long day.

**A/N: Like I said, this chapter was shorter than I had liked, but hopefully the beginning pleased you enough to make you not want to kill me. Also, the next two chapters are over three thousand words and they're chalked full of goodies. :)**

**Please leave a review that mentions something _specific _about the chapter, not just "great chapter" or "can't wait for more". It's one of my biggest pet peeves; if you can't say something to say about the chapter, don't review.**


	11. Chapter 11

**The Twilight Saga is the rightful property of Stephenie Meyer. I only take credit for my own ideas.**

**This chapter includes underage drinking. If you are against that, I advise that you do not read this chapter.**

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><p><strong>Chapter Eleven<strong>

The cafeteria was just as loud as ever. The jocks were laughing about something, the cheerleaders were gossiping about another thing, and several others were talking about whatever was on their minds, causing the lunchroom to sound like it was filled with endless chatter that you weren't able to tell where it came from. You were able to decide one thing for sure, however.

For once, there was no sound coming from my table.

Jessica and Lauren looked gob-smacked, their mouths agape as they looked at me in utter confusion. Angela tried to keep herself from laughing, her hand over her mouth as she looked at the two puzzled blondes.

"You're dead serious?" Jessica asked when she finally got out of her surprised state, blinking a couple times before she scooted closer, placing her palms on the table as she looked at me with her eyebrow raised. "You and Edward _Cullen_?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Why is it so hard to believe that I've got a date with him tomorrow? Am I _that_ ugly?"

"No, it's not that," Lauren said, shaking her head. "It's just…well…you've never dated _anyone_ and now you've snagged Edward _Cullen_ to be your first date and your first at probably…everything? We're not really surprised as…"

"Impressed," Jessica finished for her, nodding. "It's no wonder you waited to date someone…you wanted to wait for _him_," she said, tilting her chin to point behind me.

Looking over my shoulder, I noticed that Edward had paused what he was doing, one hand on his roll and a smile on his lips before he gave a friendly nod and went back to talking to his sister.

"You go girl," Lauren added when I turned back around, winking before she wrapped her arm around Tyler. "If I weren't with someone like Tyler well…"

"Baby, I told you before," Tyler said, "I don't mind it if you want to be with other people, so long as it's another woman, you know? Now another guy, fuck, that's off limits, but if you want to divulge in your college girl bi-curious state early, by all means, go for it," he said with a lazy smile.

Lauren just shook her head at him before grabbing her pizza and taking a bite, ignoring the fact that her boyfriend pretty much just told her to hook up with a girl.

"Even if Jessica wanted to be with a girl, I think I wouldn't allow that," Mike said, turning to look at Jessica with a smile on his lips. "Yeah, I think it would be hot but that's basically cheating, you know?"

I tried to ignore him as I grabbed my apple and took a bite out of it, chewing the juicy piece before I turned to Angela. "My parents are going to be out of the house tonight."

"Party!" Tyler yelled, throwing his fists up in the air as a large grin spread on his face. "I'll bring the weed."

Lauren snorted. "Tyler, shut up."

"Just because Bella's parents are out of town it doesn't mean she wants to throw a huge party with drugs involved," Jessica said, rolling her eyes.

Angela cleared her throat. "I think she was talking to me," she said in a teasing voice before she turned to me with a small smile. "So what do you want to do?"

"Well, they said I could have some friends over for a sleepover," when I noticed Tyler open his mouth to speak I continued, "but my dad would freak if he found out I had boys over, let alone drugs. I'd rather not die at his hands, so I think I'll just stick to having friends over."

Tyler crossed his arms and pouted. "Fuck y'all, too," he muttered before he stood up and walked out of the cafeteria.

Lauren rolled her eyes. "Ignore him. He's probably going to take a hit off of his weed or something," she said before she gave me a friendly smile. "Are we invited?" she asked.

I shrugged. "Yeah, I don't mind. I was thinking you, Ange and Jess could come and I was thinking about inviting my friend Leah. She probably needs some girl time because she broke up with her long-term boyfriend on Monday," I said before I pursed my lips. Maybe I should send her a text and ask her?

"Ooh, I remember Leah, she's nice," Ange said with a smile.

"Yeah, but that makes five. Things are better when there are even numbers," Jessica said before she started to look around. "Maybe we could invite Katie? I'm sure she wouldn't mind hanging out with us. She practically worships Lauren," she said with a chuckle to her voice.

"No," Lauren added, shaking her head, "I don't want a puppy dog following me around. What about Samantha? I know she can party hard enough if there are only girls there…she's a bit shy when guys are involved."

"Eww, no," Jessica said. "Every time I'm with her I swear she stares at my butt. It's disgusting."

"But I stare at your butt," Mike pouted.

"Well, you're allowed to, you're my boyfriend. Samantha though…I don't know, she just seems so…"

"Gay?" Angela finished for her, raising an eyebrow, though I did notice her eye flash to me.

I took a sip of my water, trying to avoid the look she gave before I grabbed my apple, hoping that I'd keep my mouth busy so I didn't blurt anything I didn't want people to hear.

"What's wrong with that?" Angela continued, looking back at Jessica.

Jessica only shrugged. "There's nothing wrong with it just…don't stare at my ass if you are like that, you know? As long as you don't try to do anything with me, I don't care who you love. Just…stay away from me."

"Yeah, I think she might be gay," Lauren said with a nod. "I also thought that Bella was gay," she shrugged, "so I'm not sure how good I am at picking out who might be gay."

"W-Why did you think I was gay?" I asked after I swallowed the piece of my apple. How did they _know_?

"Well, I mean, you never had a boyfriend," Jessica started, "and you never talked about guys being hot. You just…I don't know…we just didn't think you were interested in them."

Lauren nodded in agreement. "But now we know you're totally not because you're going on a date with Edward and he's, like, _the_ hottest guy at our school."

"Y-Yeah, I'm dating Edward," I said, dropping my gaze to my tray before an idea just stuck me. "Hey, what if I invite Alice to come over?"

"Ooh," Jessica said, nodding, "I like that. We could get to know her over the party. Invite her! Maybe she'll have some pictures of Edward to share."

"Alright, I'll ask her next period. She's in my English class," I said with a smile just as the lunch bell rang. "Well, I'll see you all later," I waved before I stood up and dumped my tray into the garbage can, grabbing my phone out of my pocket as I walked towards the double doors.

_Hey, Leah, _I started typing as I walked, looking up frequently so that I didn't run into a wall. _I was wondering if you wanted to come over and stay the night? Mom and Dad are going out for a gala thing in Seattle and Mom said I could invite some friends over. Want to come?_

After hitting the send button, I stuffed the phone back into my pocket and walked into my English class. Alice was already sitting in her seat with her hands clasped together on the top of her desk, a small smile on her lips when she saw me walk in.

"Hi, Bella," she said as I took my seat next to her, giving her a smile in return. "How are you?"

"I'm good," I said, nodding, "thank you. I was actually wondering if you wanted to spend the night at my house tonight? I'm having a few friends over and we thought it would be nice to have you come over so that we can get to know you. After all, we barely know each other," I chuckled.

Alice pursed her lips thoughtfully before she nodded. "Yeah, it sounds like fun. Just give me your address and I'll be there at…what time?"

I smiled. "Five. My parents should be out of the house by then."

* * *

><p>"Remember Bella," Dad warned as he walked out of the house, "no boys."<p>

I nodded, tightening my grip on the door as I gave my parents a half wave. "Yeah, no boys. Have fun."

"Don't do anything too wild, Bella," Mom said as she got inside of her station wagon.

Almost as soon as they pulled out of the driveway, I noticed a familiar red truck driving down the street, the rusty piece of metal clunking as it rolled into our driveway once the station wagon disappear down the road.

I gave a small wave to Leah as she got out of her truck with a bag in her hands. "Thanks for inviting me, Bella," she said as she walked up to the front door. "It's nice to get out of the house."

"Oh?" I said, opening the door wider to let her come in. "Why?"

She shrugged and sat her bag down next to the door after I had closed it before she wrapped her arms around me in a hug. "Nothing too serious."

I rested my head against the crook of her neck as I enjoyed being in her arms, letting my arms slide behind her to hug her in return. "You can tell me."

"Well, Seth has been feeling a bit ill the past couple of days. I think there's something spreading around down the rez. Anyway, he's feeling better now but I'm afraid I might get it, so getting out of my house was a good thing, I guess. Like I said, nothing too serious."

"I'm glad he's feeling better," I said, smiling against her neck.

"And as glad as I am that we're still hugging," she said with a slight chuckle, "we _have _been hugging for a while."

I bit my lip and pulled back, unhooking my arms from her back and letting them hang at my side as I smiled up at her. "So how are you?"

She ran a hand through her hair and sighed. "I'm fine. I haven't really talked to Sam and I'm glad I haven't. If I saw him I'm sure I'd turn into a blubbering mess which would totally not be hot."

_No, but it would be cute_. "Well, hopefully tonight can take your mind off of him. After all, this is supposed to be an all girl's party, no boys allowed." _Okay, that sounded better in my head. _

Leah smiled. "Sounds like fun. When are the others coming?" she asked.

I opened my mouth to speak when I heard a car horn honk and I turned to look out the window to see a silver Volvo pulling into my driveway. _Oh dear God, please don't tell me Alice let her brother drive her here._

Thankfully, I noticed Alice open the door from the driver's seat and I breathed a sigh of relief. I opened the door and waved at her. "Hey, Alice," I said with a smile. "You're the second one here."

"So I noticed," she chuckled as she walked up to the porch, almost stopping when she noticed Leah next to me. "Who's this?"

"Oh," I said, realizing that they didn't know each other. "Alice, this is Leah, Leah, this is Alice."

Alice reached out with her hand and put on a smile, though it kind of looked forced. "Nice to meet you."

Leah grabbed her hand and nodded, her smile more sincere as she shook Alice's hand. "Same here but sheesh," she said as she pulled back, looking at her hand in shock, "you're freezing. You okay?"

Alice nodded. "I just run colder than most people."

Leah gave a stiff nod as she glanced at me. "So when is everyone else getting here?"

One by one they arrived. Angela came about five minutes afterwards, breaking the awkward tension that was filling the room as Leah, Alice and I sat on the sofa nervously, chatting about something random before I heard her car pull up in the driveway. Jessica came next, her hands full of chips and fatty stuff before she gave Mike a peck on the cheek and walked in, dumping the junk food onto the coffee table. Leah and Angela were more than happy to dig in.

Lauren arrived ten minutes later; of course it would be her that would run fashionably late. Tyler had dropped her off, and I was a witness to their thirty second tongue bath before she walked in with, surprisingly, a six pack in her hands.

"You brought alcohol?" I asked, loud enough for the other girls to hear. By the time Lauren got inside the house, everyone was looking in her direction. Angela had her eyebrow raised as everyone stared at the six pack of beer in the blonde's hand, not entirely sure what to say about it.

"Relax, Bella," Lauren said, tossing her bag to the couch before she set the beer on the coffee table. "There isn't enough to get us wasted. I figured what better way than to get to know each other than through a couple rounds of "Never have I ever". Sure, we'll get a little bit of a buzz, but not enough to make us regret it."

I pursed my lips before shaking my head. "My dad will see the beer bottles in the trash and he'll automatically assume that I had a huge party with boys involved."

"Bella, live a little. It isn't going to hurt to have one beer," Lauren said, rolling her eyes. "I'll make sure we leave with the bottles so that Bella doesn't get in trouble. So what do you say?"

Leah shrugged. "I'm game if anyone else is."

"I'll play, but I'm not entirely sure about the rules," Alice nodded.

Angela sighed and looked at Jessica who was smiling in anticipation. "I guess if everyone else wants to…"

Lauren elbowed me, raising her eyebrow suggestively. "Come on, Bella."

"Alright, fine, but I swear, you _have _to take the empty bottles with you before you leave," I groaned before I sat on the couch in between Angela and Leah.

With a grin, Lauren handed out a beer bottle to everyone before she reached into her pocket, revealing a bottle opener. She went over to everyone's bottle and took the top off before she sat down on the floor, crossing her legs together.

"Okay, so the name of the game is "Never have I ever". Basically we go around and name something we haven't done and if you have, you have to take a drink. I'll demonstrate." She cleared her throat before she knitted her eyebrows together thoughtfully. "Hmm…okay, I got it. Never have I ever got myself off."

_Well, there I go_, I thought as I put the bottle to my lips, taking a quick drink of the beer. This beer was sweeter than I had anticipated, as I did have beer before, so it was a surprise to see that Lauren could pick out a good brand.

I wasn't the only one to drink, thankfully. Jessica, Leah, Alice and Angela drank, which meant that Lauren was the only one who _hadn't _masturbated.

"Really, Lauren?" Jessica asked after swallowing her drink. "You've never masturbated?"

Lauren shrugged. "I've seen no reason to," she said before she turned to her right, smiling at Alice. "You go, Alice."

Alice pursed her lips in thought before she snapped her fingers together. "I've got it. Never have I ever shoplifted."

Jessica and Lauren smacked their bottles together in a toast before they took a drink and I, remembering that one time I had stolen a pack of gum on a dare, took a swig.

That didn't go unnoticed by the blondes in the room.

"_Bella_," Lauren said, impressed as she looked at me with a smile. "When did _you _shoplift?"

I rolled my eyes. "I was ten years old and Jake dared me. I said no but then he triple dog dared me and you can't back out of a triple dog dare when you're ten."

"Uh-huh, alright Angela, it's your turn," Jessica said, smiling at the girl that sat next to me.

Angela scratched the back of her neck. "Well, first off, I don't know _why _we're going counter-clockwise. Clockwise just seems much more reasonable," she said before she nodded. "Alright, easy. Never have I ever had sex."

I shrugged as I watched the four other girls take a beer, smiling at Angela before we clanked our bottles together in celebration of still having our virginity. "You're all a bunch of sluts," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Just go, Bella," Lauren said, her eyes starting to narrow into slits.

I nodded. "Alright, let's see…never have I ever smoked weed."

Lauren cursed before she took a drink and, to my surprise, Leah did as well.

"When did you, Leah?" I asked.

She shrugged. "About a year ago. With Sam. It was fun, but I don't think I'm going to do it again."

"Tyler had been wanting me to get high with him for a while so…" Lauren explained.

"Alright, let's just continue," Leah said. "Never have I ever had sex in a place other than the bedroom."

Lauren, Jessica and Alice took a drink before Jessica shook her leg impatiently.

"Let me think…um…never have I ever…kissed a girl."

_Does wanting to count?_ I thought as I watched Leah take a drink next to me, her lips wrapping around the neck of the bottle as she did.

Alice had also taken a drink, pursing her lips after she did so.

"Okay, we're going to need some explanations," Lauren chuckled, looking at them.

Leah shrugged. "Spin the bottle when I was thirteen with Kim Connweller."

"My girlfriend," Alice spoke up, shrugging. "Almost every day when I get home from school."

Jessica and Lauren looked at her with their mouths agape, their eyes wide before they recovered themselves.

Jessica cleared her throat. "So…you're like…"

"Gay? Yes, yes I am. And if you have a problem with it I can leave," Alice said, looking at the two blondes.

Lauren shook her head. "No, it's just surprising is all. Go gays and all," she chuckled nervously before she looked at her beer bottle. "Oh, okay, so we might only have enough for another round, but I think that's enough. Alright, never have I ever fantasized about a girl," she said, glancing at Alice.

Of course, Lauren was the _only_ one who didn't take a drink.

"Really guys?" she asked. "Care to share?"

Jessica shrugged. "You're allowed to have one girl you'd want to fuck without being gay," she said before she looked at Alice, "no offense."

"None taken," Alice chuckled.

"It's called a girl crush, Lauren," Angela explained. "I'm not going to lie, Megan Fox has definitely been featured in my dreams on more than one occasion."

"Leighton Meester," Jessica said with a smile. "I love me some Gossip Girl."

"What about you, Bella?" Lauren asked.

I bit my lip as I glanced at Leah. _Her_, my mind said, wanting to make my mouth say the word before I cleared my throat. "Emma Stone. She looked hot in her Easy A get up."

"Mila Kunis for me," Leah said with a tight smile.

"Okay, moving on," Jessica said, looking at Alice. "Your turn again."

Alice nodded. "Never have I ever…hmm….gotten a tattoo."

We looked at one another, not shocked that we _weren't_ taking a drink, before I noticed Jessica elbowing Lauren in the ribs. With a reluctant sigh the short haired blonde took a drink.

When she sat the beer bottle on the ground, she looked up to see several pairs of curious eyes on her. "Look, I was drunk and…well, it's on my ankle and it says Tyler. Tyler has one on his back that says Lauren. We were wasted and probably a bit high, too, I can't remember. I just remember waking up and there it was, on my ankle."

I pursed my lips and looked at Angela who took a deep breath. "My turn again, huh? Hmm…oh, okay, I got it. Never have I ever gone skinny dipping."

Leah looked over to me and raised her eyebrow, one side of her lip curling upwards before she took a drink. I knew what that meant; she remembered.

I took a drink as well and, after noticing that the others were looking at me expectantly, I sighed. "I was about eleven and Leah dared me to go into the ocean naked, so I told her that I would only do it if she did."

"Needless to say, we were freezing our butts off by the time we got back to the shore," Leah chuckled, looking in my direction with a smile on her lips.

I dropped my gaze to the beer bottle, pursing my lips as I remembered that that was when my crush for her had begun to start. Of course, we were still young, so we hadn't really developed, but she was definitely starting to show the beginnings of her current beauty. "I-I guess it's my turn," I said, trying to get my mind off of the _crush_ I have on my friend, "never have I ever used a fake ID."

Jessica, Lauren, and Alice all took a drink and Angela chuckled. "I think I'm going to drink the least out of all of us," she said, laughing again.

Leah rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Alright. Never have I ever given a blowjob," she said, staring at Angela with a raised eyebrow.

Angela only smirked back at her and shook her head as she watched both Lauren and Jessica take a drink.

"Here's one that I _know _Angela won't drink to," Jessica said, rolling her eyes. "Never have I ever had someone go down on me."

Angela cleared her throat and took a drink and, when she smiled at us, she went on to explain. "Just because I make good grades it doesn't mean I can't…get off every once and awhile."

"Yeah but…was it Eric?" Jessica asked, her eyes almost bulging out of her head in surprise. "I mean, I never thought you'd be the one to want sex during high school…like any type of sex."

"First, yes, it was Eric," Angela said, rolling her eyes. "And secondly, I wasn't planning it. Eric offered and well…"

Lauren snorted. "I think it's good that Angela got at least _something_. Maybe Bella is next?"

I rolled my eyes, ignoring her comment before we all downed the rest of our beer, though Jessica and Lauren didn't have that much left in their bottle. Once the beer was gone, Lauren collected the empty bottles in a plastic bag before we decided to dance our butts off.

By the end of the night, we were all _exhausted_ and we crashed in my living room, Leah and I lying next to one another as we drifted into sleep.

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><p><strong>AN: Extra long chapter. I had planned for this to end around Bella's date the night before, but I'm glad I didn't. Then the chapter would've been about seven thousand words, haha. Anyway, we're getting to the good stuff. We got to know more about Alice, see more of Leah (because we can't get enough of her, right?) and just some good old fashioned girl fun.**

**I don't want to sound like a broken record but _please_, when you review, mention something _specific _about the chapter and not just "Great chapter, longer than usual, hope to see more in the future" or something similar and/or part of that. I want to see what you actually _liked _about the chapter or what you didn't like. I can take constructive criticism, but "great chapter, hope to see more in the future" isn't that, and it doesn't help me become a better writer, so please, help me.**

**With that said, I'll see you next chapter. It includes a talk between Alice and Bella, as well as the date with Edward. Oh yeah.**


	12. Chapter 12

**The Twilight Saga is the rightful property of Stephenie Meyer. I only take credit for my own ideas.**

**This chapter is dedicated to LobaDeIlladel for leaving me three awesome reviews.**

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><p><strong>Chapter Twelve<strong>

Slowly I felt myself waking up, the sound of the tv coaxing me into consciousness. I stretched my legs before I sat up, looking at the tv with squinted eyes before I noticed that the news was on, talking about a possible gang in Seattle.

"_We aren't sure what's happening," _the officer on the tv said, crossing his arms before he nodded, _"but we know we can't let this happen anymore. Already four people have been killed and we have six that are missing. We're trying to crack down and figure out _what _is out there, but so far we have no leads."_

"_Officer Morrison had no further comments except that he urges everyone to be careful and to travel in gro—"_

The television was cut off abruptly before I heard someone place the remote on the coffee table. "Good morning," their voice sounded, and I turned around to see Alice smiling at me. "Did you sleep well?"

I nodded as I reached up to rub the sleep out of my eyes, glancing down at Leah's sleeping form to see that she was smiling. _She must be having a good dream, _I thought with a smile before I looked back at Alice. "Yeah, I did. How about you?"

"Not as good as I'd hope," she said truthfully. "It was my first time drinking alcohol and it didn't really agree with me. I spent a lot of time rushing to the bathroom."

"Ugh, been there, done that," I said, shuddering at the memory of my first drink. "I don't think I even _left _the bathroom the first time I had liquor."

Alice chuckled. "Well, I guess I was luckier than that. Good thing it was only one bottle of beer."

"I'd hate to think what kind of hangover I'd have if it was more than that. I'm not really good with alcohol," I said with a laugh. "So what were you watching?"

"Just some news," Alice answered with a shrug.

"What's going on?" I heard someone ask groggily and I knew then that it was time to make breakfast.

After everyone had their scrambled eggs and played a few hands of Go Fish, Old Maid, and several other card games, they started to scatter out of the house. First Jessica, with a promise to go to the beach with Mike, and then Lauren, who promised Tyler she'd hang out with him. Angela left then, smiling apologetically as she explained that she had to watch her little brothers. Leah and Alice were the only two left by noon, though Leah was on her way out.

"I wish I could stay," Leah said as she gathered her stuff, "but I'm starting to feel sick. Maybe it's the eggs."

I shrugged. "Maybe you're getting what your brother had."

"That could be it," she said with a nod. "Well, thanks for inviting me. It was nice to meet you, Alice," she said before she walked out of the house and got into her truck. I watched as she drove off, leaning against the door as I did so. It was good to be with Leah, but I wished that we were alone…though that could get awkward, considering I had had a sex dream about her not that long ago.

Someone cleared their throat, knocking me out of my thoughts. I turned around to see Alice raising her eyebrow, her arms crossed as she looked at me expectantly. "You like her, huh?" she simply asked, a knowledgeable expression on her face.

I shrugged as I turned around to close the door, hiding the smile that grew on my lips. "Of course I do. I've known her since like…forever. She's my best friend."

"That's not what I meant," Alice said, causing me to turn around to face her. "You want to be more than friends, right?"

"N-No, I don't know what you're talking about," I said, looking back at the door with my palm pressed flat against it, trying to regain _some _form of composure.

"Look, Bella, if you're confused about your sexuality I can help you. _Trust _me, I've been there," she said and then I heard the sound of footsteps approaching closer. "Talk to me."

"I'm not confused," I said through gritted teeth, trying my hardest to not turn around and bawl. It was true. I knew that I was…that I was gay, I just…I didn't accept that.

"I think you are," she whispered and I felt a hand on my shoulder. "You said you wanted to be friends. This could be the step that would make our relationship a step up from acquaintanceship."

Closing my eyes, I took a deep calming breath before I turned to her. "I'm…Yes, fine, I like Leah as more than a friend. Happy now?"

Alice pursed her lips. "And yet you're going on a date with my brother this afternoon."

_Crap, _I thought, remembering that I had a date with him in Port Angeles. "Right."

"So you're confused about your sexuality?"

"No, I'm not."

"Then why are you going on a date with my brother?" she asked. "If you're so sure of your sexuality."

"Because I…" I took a deep breath and shook my head. "I…I don't _want _to be like…_this._"

Alice twisted her mouth to the side as she took in my words, dropping her hands to her side. "You know, it's not a sin to be gay."

"I think a lot of people would argue with you," I said with a small chuckle before I headed into the living room, sitting down on the couch with a plop before I put my head in my hands. "I don't know what to think anymore."

I heard footsteps before I felt the couch shift and an arm wrapped around my shoulders. "So you are gay, then, yes?"

"Yes…No…I don't know. I guess I am but how will I know for sure? I haven't even _kissed _a guy," I said as I looked at Alice, lifting my head up from my hands.

"Well, have you kissed a girl?" she asked, cocking her head to the side.

"No, I haven't," I admitted.

"I have a suggestion, but you might not be up for it," she said, removing her arm to lean against the couch leisurely.

Taking a deep breath, I nodded. "I'm up for _anything_."

"Go on this date with my brother. Kiss him and see if you do like kissing boys," she said before she cleared her throat. "But kiss me first. See if you like kissing girls and then once you're done with your date, you can compare."

"Does that…really work?"

She shrugged. "It worked for me. I kissed a boy and I kissed a girl, my girlfriend to be exact, and realized that the feelings I had when I kissed her were greater than when I kissed him."

"But…wouldn't your girlfriend be mad that you kissed another girl?"

"Not really. She's very open-minded; I'm sure if I told her that I was helping someone come to terms with who they are she wouldn't mind." Alice looked at me then, raising an eyebrow. "What do you say?"

"I-I don't know. It's kind of weird…I always thought that when I kissed someone for the first time it would be spontaneous and not planned."

"Well, it can be, for when you kiss Edward. You'll never know who you truly are if you don't try," she said, smiling before she sat up and leaned closer. "Just say the word."

Should I do this? It felt a bit wrong; I mean, I was going to go out with her _brother _in a few hours, and yet she wanted to kiss me?

I did notice one thing. I was worried about kissing her because I had plans with her brother, not because she is a _she_.

Giving her a nod, I closed my eyes, waiting for the feel of her lips. Within seconds I felt a pair of cold and smooth lips collide with my own, moving against mine slowly.

My heart hammered in my chest as I enjoyed the kiss, realizing that I had been missing a _lot _by not kissing anyone. I felt so…I guess alive is the word I'm looking for.

Almost too soon her lips were off of mine and I opened my eyes slowly, the first thing I noticed was Alice's waiting expression.

"So?" she asked.

"I can't say I didn't like it," I said with a chuckle, running a hand through my hair. _I just wish my first kiss would've been with her…_

"Well, I'm going to have to go, but remember, kiss my brother and compare," she said with a nod before she stood up and gave me a reassuring smile. "Things will make sense, Bella, and they will get better."

Pursing my lips, I nodded and stood up, walking her out of the house. "Thanks, Alice," I said as I opened the door, taking my bottom lip in between my teeth.

"No problem, Bella. Just let me know when you've got things figured out, alright?" she said before she gave a small wave and headed towards her car, getting in it and driving off shortly after. Taking a deep breath, I shook my head as I closed the door, locking it before I headed into the living room, noticing the few remnants from the party; pillows on the couch, blankets halfway on the floor.

Glancing at the clock, I realized I should probably clean up and then take a shower, considering my date tonight. I grabbed the spare pillows and blankets and placed them back in the linen closet before I did not one, but two sweeps through the house to make sure nothing was out of place. When I noticed that the house was as clean as it was when my parents had left, if not cleaner, I headed for the stairs.

But I immediately stopped when I heard a whine coming from behind me. I turned around to see Chief giving me a pathetic look, his big brown eyes causing my will to crumble. He let out another whine as he noticed I was looking at him and he turned around, facing the front door.

"Alright, bud, I'll take you out," I said as I grabbed my keys from the key hanger and opened the door, watching as Chief ran out. He was a good dog, he didn't need a leash when we let him out to go to the bathroom and our neighbors knew that whenever he _did _have a leash on, he was on duty, so they didn't mind.

After closing the door, I walked out and down the porch, looking around to see where Chief was. He was sniffing the grass over near the trees that lined the edge of the forest, probably smelling rabbits or squirrels or whatever critter that was his current favorite. I smiled as I watched him but realized that I should probably hurry this along, especially if I had my date tonight. "Come on, Chief, I don't have forever," I said as I started to walk towards him, putting my keys in my pockets as I did.

As I walked, however, I heard a low growl coming from his lips before he turned to face the trees, his tail high and his hackles raised as he continued to growl.

My brow furrowed, I ran up to him, looking at his aggressive stance before I glanced at the trees cautiously. "What is it, boy?" I asked, trying to see if I could see anything.

Suddenly Chief shot out into the trees, still growling as his paws dug up earth and kicked it behind him, some landing on my shirt. "Chief!" I shouted, though not because of my clothes; I wasn't one of those girls who got prissy when they got their shirt dirty. No, instead I ran after him, following him into the trees. "Get back here!" I shouted again, stopping as I heard a crack of a twig from my left.

Slowly I turned towards the noise, swallowing a lump in my throat as I suddenly became nervous. _Please don't be the bear, please don't be the bear, please don't be the bear, _I chanted in my mind as I turned, shocked when I didn't come across black fur. Instead it was light grey fur that broke through the greenery, the face lighter than the rest of the body. The ears were pointed in my direction, listening in on to what I was doing as the animal took a step closer, its tail swaying against the brush.

That's when I recognized what it was.

This wasn't any bear; I was pretty sure that bears did _not _get as big as this…wolf. I couldn't believe my eyes. Was there a radioactive pit somewhere that made the wolf population two times bigger than what they normally were? Was someone messing with wolf DNA?

All I knew was that there was a wolf, a very large wolf at that, staring at me with huge brown eyes that shined with something familiar. They were deep and understanding, almost…human-like. I felt myself drawn to the wolf and I took a step closer with my hand outstretched, wanting to see if it was tame enough to let me touch it, even for a moment.

I was broke out of my trance when Chief bounced in front of me and growled at the wolf, my eyes flashing to him for a brief second, but that was long enough for the wolf to escape. With a sigh, I grabbed Chief's collar and headed back towards the house.

So what the people of Forks were seeing wasn't a bear, but a wolf. Larger than average wolves, yes, but wolves nonetheless. It took me awhile to remember that the wolf I had caught sight of when I was dirt-bike riding with Jake had black fur and I pursed my lips as I realized that there was not one wolf, but at least two, if not more. Wolves usually ran in packs so it only made sense, but why were they hanging this close to the town? To the hikers?

Regardless, I pushed my thoughts aside and walked inside the house, shutting the door behind me as Chief headed to his dog dish. I climbed into my shower and washed myself off, making sure I would be perfect for my date with Edward.

Thinking about Edward made me think about his sister and the…kiss we shared. I mean, yes, it wasn't that hard to see that Alice was attractive, but she wasn't my type. No. My type was tall, dark and _beautiful_ with gorgeous black locks that fell to the small of her back and supple lips that had me dreaming about what it would feel like to have them on my heated center…

My shower took longer than I had liked, but by the time I got out, I realized it was perfect. I had enough time to get to Port Angeles before the time Edward said to meet him.

The drive didn't take me long, but that was partly because I kept contemplating the decision to kiss him. It wasn't something I was looking forward to but I knew I had to just so that I was _sure _I was gay.

Not that that would change anything.

I pulled into the parking lot of La Bella Italia just as the sun began to set in the horizon, making the sky a beautiful mixture of pink, red and purple before I put my truck into park, looking around to see if I could find Edward's car. When I noticed that I didn't see his car, I glanced at the clock and saw that I was about twenty minutes early. _Great_.

With a sigh I got out of the truck. It wouldn't hurt to go for a walk, right? I mean, the streetlights were starting to turn on but the sky was still somewhat lit. Deciding it was safe, I put the phone in my pocket and walked down the street, turning a corner. I smiled as I watched a little boy being drug by a leash, his dog leading the way with his parents trailing behind them.

Ten minutes into my walk, I decided to head back to the restaurant and found out that I had lost my way. _Awesome_. It was about seven-thirty when I finally gave up, reaching my phone to text Edward and tell him I was lost when my phone buzzed in my hand. With my eyebrows furrowed I checked and saw that Edward had texted me.

_Not coming, _was all it read, and I felt anger welling up in me.

Who the hell tells them they're not coming ten minutes after they're supposed to meet for a date? Obviously Edward fucking Cullen.

"Hey, girlie!" someone shouted from behind me and I turned around to see a guy with a beer bottle in his hands, halfway limping as he walked towards me. He didn't look much older than me, maybe 21 at the oldest, and he wore a baseball cap backwards. He was a built guy, his dark blue t-shirt straining against his arms and chest.

For some reason, as I stared at him, adrenaline pumped through my veins which meant one thing. This guy could be dangerous. I turned around so that I could walk away when I noticed another guy heading in my direction, licking his lips hungrily.

My eyes widened and I turned into a different direction, heading down a section that I thought would help me get away but I instantly froze when I realized that it was a dead-end. Fuck.

"Where you go, babe?" I heard one ask before I saw a shadow creep over the entry way. The brown haired one, he looked Hispanic, appeared first and smirked.

"Well, hello cutie," he said before he ushered his friend closer. "Looks like you've got nowhere else to run."

His friend, the blonde with the beer bottle and backwards baseball cap, appeared from behind him. "She's cute, Raoul," he slurred. "We should definitely break her in."

"Yeah, I bet she'd look fucking _hot _with two dicks in her," Raoul chuckled darkly before he stepped closer. "Be a good little girl and we won't hurt you, alright."

Adrenaline pumped through my veins again and this time I realized that there was no flight option, so I'd have to go with the fight. "My father is a police officer."

"I don't see your pops here, babe," the blonde said as he walked closer so that him and Raoul were side by side as they closed in. "It's just you, me and Raoul."

"Like Casey said, your old man is nowhere to be seen," Raoul said with a toothy grin. "Now, why don't you be a good little victim and be quiet."

"Victim of what, your stupidity?" I asked, snorting.

Casey grew angry at my words and stormed forward. "Why you little…" he trailed off as he reached out to grab my hair, but I was quicker. I lifted my leg up and hit him hard where the sun doesn't shine, causing him to stop to cup his balls. "FUCK!"

"I _refuse _to be the victim, here," I spat in Raoul's direction, my hands curling into fists as Casey rolled around on the ground. "First I find out that the guy I was supposed to go on a date with stands me up and now I've got two douchebags who want to fucking rape me because I'm attractive. I'm the daughter of a cop, the chief of police; I was taught self-defense, so back the fuck up before you regret it." My vision became red, though I didn't understand why, and there was a tightening in my stomach.

Raoul shook his head while biting his lip before he reached for his pocket. "You're going to regret saying that, bitch," he cursed before he revealed a knife, coming closer to me.

"_No_," I growled before my stomach tightened to an unbearable degree and I found myself on my knees, cupping my stomach as I groaned.

"What was that? I didn't hear you over your bitching," Raoul chuckled before his footsteps drew nearer, but then I heard a thudding noise, followed by the sound of skin connecting with skin and then another thud. Looking up, though my vision was still red, I saw Leah standing over Raoul, only she looked different.

Her hair was cut short, like really short, and she was wearing a pair of jean shorts and a tank top before she looked at me. "Bella, look at me, okay," she said as she walked closer, stopping when she noticed that Casey was recovering. She cracked her knuckles before she sent a fist to Casey's face, knocking him out cold. She bent down and looked at me, putting her hands on my shoulders. "It'll be okay."

"Wh-What's going on?" I asked, biting my lip to suppress another groan. I didn't think it was possible but the feeling in my stomach was only getting worse and worse by the minute.

"Don't worry," she said, giving me a small smile, "hang on to what you're feeling, alright?"

I listened to her words, hanging on to the feeling of being stood up and almost becoming a victim of a sexual crime before it felt like I exploded.

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><p><strong>AN: College sucks ass. I've got an exam tomorrow that I'm studying for and then I have an essay that I need to write for my English class. I figured I'd give you this chapter for being so patient for me, but, unfortunately, it ended in a cliff-hanger. Though this cliffhanger probably pleased a _lot _of you, haha.**

**Fair warning; next chapter, I abused the italics button. Like a lot.**


	13. Chapter 13

**The Twilight Saga is the rightful property of Stephenie Meyer. I only take credit for my own ideas.**

**This chapter is dedicated to MusicLover96.**

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><p><strong>Chapter Thirteen<strong>

My vision slowly became clear, the red haze disappearing and creeping out of my view before I was able to see everything before me. And by everything, I meant _everything_. It seemed like the red haze had come in to block out anything, cleaning my eyes so that when it disappeared, I had crystal clear vision, and it was probably even better than 20/20.

For some reason it seemed like I was higher up than I remembered. Yes, I know I had been on my knees but I felt…taller and more powerful. It was…hard to describe.

As I looked around, trying to gather my bearings, I felt something stir under me and I looked down to see that Leah was under a large paw, the claws starting to tear into the fabric.

It took me a minute to realize that the paw was connected to a leg that looked like it was attached to _me_.

Holy sweet hell what the fuck was going on?

"I'd appreciate it if you could get your paw off of me, Bella," Leah said from under me, raising an eyebrow as she looked up at my now taller form.

_My _paw? So I was right. I was giant freak. In front of my crush. Fucking perfect.

_Oh boy…_ I heard a voice call out in my head, nearly causing me to jump in my place.

Now I was not only a freak, but I heard voices too?

_I'll explain everything when you get your paw off of Leah; she won't be able to heal until you get your claws out of her, _the voice explained in a familiar tone, somewhat quiet and shy, just like…

_Embry? _

The voice sighed. _Yeah, it's me. Like I said, I'll explain everything once you get your paw off of Leah._

So I _did _have a paw? Cautiously I lifted my left hand, or my left front paw, and watched as Leah moved out of the way, her left shoulder and neck covered in cuts.

"That's going to take a while to heal," she muttered under her breath as she looked at her wounds before she looked up at me. "Bella, you need to talk to Embry. I've got a phone call to make."

Wait…she knew Embry was in my head? _How?_

_I said I would explain everything. I'll do everything I can but it's not really my place…I should wait until Sam gets here._

_Sam? I _knew _he was up to something. He turned you into a freak, didn't he? A person who can get into people's minds. Ugh. _How the hell was he able to get to me? It didn't make any fucking sense, I wasn't even close to him.

_Let's just wait until he gets here, _Embry sighed.

I glanced at Leah to see that she was now on the phone, one hand on her hip as the other held the phone to her ear.

"I _told _you, Sam. It was a good thing you let Paul and Jared scope out Port Angeles with me, because we've got a couple bodies and…"

"_Wait, wait, wait," _Sam's voice sounded on the other end, interrupting her. It took me awhile to realize that I was able to _hear _him, given the fact that normally, at this distance, I _shouldn't _have been able to hear someone on the phone. I was fairly certain Leah didn't have the phone on speaker, so I wondered if my hearing improved too.

_It did, _Embry answered.

_How did…_

_Sam w—_

_Sam will explain. Yeah, you told me that already. _

"_There are a couple of _bodies_? What the hell did you do, Leah? Did you start a fight with that Cullen kid? Did yo—"_

Leah rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Fuck no, Sam. The guy didn't even show, or at least he isn't here. Bella was about to be ambushed by these two douche bags and the pain got so bad she was on her knees; one of them had a knife so I had to step in to help. I didn't kill them; they're unconscious, but we'll probably need to move them somewhere safe."

"_And where is she?"_

"In the middle of an alley," Leah answered, glancing at me with her lips pursed.

I heard Sam curse on the other end of the phone before he sighed. _"Alright, fine. After Paul and Jared move the guys you need to get Bella into the woods. I doubt the people of Port Angeles would be thrilled to see an overgrown wolf walking down the street. I'm getting ready to phase, you stay with her and keep an eye on her."_

"Yes, _Dad_," she spat into the phone before closing it shut and sticking it into her pocket, her body turning slightly towards the entrance of the alleyway. Paul rounded the corner and snorted as he saw me.

"Looks like you're not the smallest one anymore, Lee-Lee," Paul sneered as he stopped next to Raoul, looking down at the guy before he kicked the knife out of his hand. "What happened here?"

"These asshats were trying to rape her," Leah said, glancing at me. "I'm surprised this triggered it."

"I'm just surprised you were right," Paul added as he whistled loudly towards the entrance of the alley. "Down here, J!" he called out before he bent down and picked up Raoul's body, carrying him over his shoulders. "Jared and I will take care of these guys," he said as he turned towards the street, Jared walking down the alley and walking up to Casey.

_Bella, _a new voice sounded in my head, causing me to jump, tearing my eyes away from the scene before me as I tried to pay attention to my mind.

Of course, that probably only made me seem even crazier.

_You're not crazy, _the voice sounded again, and I realized it was actually Sam in my head. _Whenever you've gone to La Push, did you hear any of the stories Harry or Billy told?_

I thought back to when I was little, sitting with Jake, Quil and Embry as we listened to Billy tell us scary stories about how Quileutes had descended from wolves and could turn into one if their enemies, the Cold Ones, were near. _What are you trying to say? That…They're true?_

_Yes, they are, _Sam said before he sighed. _I understand if you hate me, it took me awhile to convince Embry and Jake to listen to me, but I need you to remain quiet as I speak. Can I expect that from you?_

_I-I guess…_ I thought, glancing at Leah who gave me a worried look, her lips pursed.

_Good. First, I'm sure you've noticed we are talking through our minds. We, the pack, are connected by a mind-link, we can hear everyone's thoughts. At the beginning anything you think will slip out, but we will teach you how to keep the more private aspects of your life._

_Sexual relations, sexualities, et cetera, et cetera, _Embry added on. At the mentions of sexuality I glanced at Leah, who was still looking at me with that worried look. _It got annoying at first, having everyone know every aspect about you, but that just helps you _want _to learn. Trust me, I've been there._

_Embry, _Sam warned before he focused his attention back on me, which was weird, because it was like I could _see _him turning his head to look at me, even though he wasn't with me. _Secondly, you are a werewolf and right now you are in your wolf form. I'm sure you've gathered this by now._

_Well, I knew I had _paws_ and _claws _but not what I was. So I'm a wolf…how did this happen?_

Sam was silent for a minute. _I'm not sure. Only descendants of Taha Aki seem to have the gene. I never thought you were going to become one of us, which is why I had Jacob stay away from you, given the dangers one could have if in close proximity to a human. Though I'm glad yo—_

_Wait…human? So I'm not…human anymore? _So not only was I gay, I was a freak and I was no longer human? Awesome.

Sam cleared his throat. _In technical terms, no, you are not. You are a werewolf, though we do have a human form, our skins, if you will. We run a lot warmer than humans do, a fever that would mean normal humans were on the verge of death. Our senses are enhanced as well as our reflexes; I'm sure you will no longer be the same clumsy girl everyone knows you are now that you have undergone the change. Now I'm going to continue with what I was trying to say. We never thought you were going to become one of us, become a member of our pack, given the fact that you come from a line of pale-faces. Normally we try to limit contact with normal humans, the only ones who know about us are our significant others and the tribal council, mainly Harry Clearwater, Billy Black, and Old Quil._

That would explain why they weren't upset with Sam's creation of a gang.

_Not upset, yes, but gang, no. Like I said, we are a pack. I was the first to phase, to make the transition from ordinary human male to protector of La Push, which makes me the alpha. Although I do not enforce my words all too often, I do when it could end in a bad way. Like with Jacob, I had told him _not _to hang with you anymore. You threw a curve-ball when you went to visit him, but I'm glad you did; you gave Jake the chance to notice the signs that you were nearing the change. Your accelerated growth was a key factor, given that your body is trying to make room for the beast that now resides in you._

_And how…how do I get back into my body?_

_You are still in your body, you just need to find a way to calm down enough so that you can revert back to your human form. You need to understand, though, that the life you once knew is gone. Your social life will be slim, you should only hang out with other pack members, and most importantly, you _must _stay away from the Cullen family._

Stay away from Alice and Edward? Why… _That doesn't make any sense._

_It will once I let you know that Alice, Edward, and the rest of their coven are Cold Ones._

_That…That can't be _true_! _I shouted, remembering the kiss I shared with Alice. Embry muttered a curse word and I immediately kicked myself, I need to learn how to control my thoughts sooner rather than later.

My mind then flashed to their cold skin and the way they didn't seem to eat. The only time I had seen Alice put something in her mouth was the alcohol, and then she had thrown that all up hours afterwards, claiming that she was a lightweight. There was also their eyes, the way they seemed to go from golden-brown to black and then back again within the span of a couple of weeks. It couldn't be true…could it?

_It is, Bella. Edward and Alice are living a façade, living as humans, though we have learned that they cannot be easily trusted, _he said before he sighed. _We think they have a few friends over, and ones that have a liking for human blood._

My mind revert back to the talks I heard about the hiker that was killed, about the way that the hikers _swore _they saw a bear in the woods.

_Unfortunately, _Sam said, nodding with what I was thinking, _we've been trying our hardest to do our job; protecting humans from these Cold Ones. The past few times we have been getting there right at the nick of time, hence the sightings of the black bear. The last time, however, we weren't as quick and the hiker was killed before we got there._

_So you're…protecting people from the Cold Ones? _I asked cautiously. I wasn't sure if I was believing this, I mean, the evidence stacked against the "bear" said otherwise.

_We know it looks bad, _Sam continued, _but we _aren't _the ones killing people. Cold Ones are, the vampires, and we're trying to eradicate the problem the best we can. Unfortunately, the vampire that we _know _is targeting citizens in Forks seems to have a knack for escaping. We haven't seen this vampire for ourselves, but judging from the scent, we assume it's a female. Every time we think we've almost got her, or him if we're mistaken, the vampire pulls a fast one on us._

_Wait…That's a lot of information to process in only a matter of seconds, _I said, glancing at Leah who was now turned towards the entry of the alleyway, her arms crossed just as Paul and Jared returned. _Vampires? I thought we were talking about Cold Ones._

_Cold Ones are vampires, Bella. I know this is a lot to take in, but we have time. First, though, we've got to teach you self-control and how to change back. It might take awhile before we can get you back to your human form, and when you do, you must speak to _no one _about what I have discussed with you. _Especially _your parents._

_O…Okay. _I had to keep _another _secret? When I finally tell someone the truth I get another one thrown on me? That was great. _When do we start?_

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><p><strong>AN: And there you have it. Like I said, I abused the italics this chapter, haha. Bella is a shifter, but this only brings up more questions. Do any of you have questions?**

**Next chapter Bella goes back to school with her newfound knowledge. Let the fun begin. :)**


	14. Chapter 14

**The Twilight Saga is the rightful property of Stephenie Meyer. I only take credit for my own ideas.**

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><p><strong>Chapter Fourteen<strong>

It wasn't until early Monday morning, two thirteen to be exact, when I finally returned back to my human form. Leah had called my parents and told them that I was staying the night with her on Saturday, and Sunday, night, followed by her father vouching for the both of us. I was able to learn how to control my thoughts, how to avoid letting the others hear things I didn't want them to hear, and then Sam had helped me learn how to become a human again.

"How are you feeling?" Leah asked as she drove, glancing at me briefly before she looked back to the road. She had taken the liberty to drive my truck back to La Push, and she was going to drop me off at school this morning.

"I've got a bit of a headache," I groaned, reaching up with my hands to rub my temple.

Leah chuckled. "Yeah, you're going to get that when you spend more than a day in your fur," she said, glancing at me again. "I had one the first time I phased, though it didn't last as long because it didn't take me as long to change back."

"Why is that?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at her. I had wondered why it seemed like she was able to get into her human form within a day.

"I don't know," she answered, but the tone of her voice and the way she gripped the steering wheel a little tighter told me a different story. I decided not to press, though, and watched the trees as they passed outside my window before they disappeared, revealing the school. "I'll be back to pick you up," Leah said as she pulled in. "I wa—We want you to be careful, Bella, especially because of…" Leah's voice trailed off.

I nodded. "Thank, Leah," I said before I got out of my seat. I was a little curious as to why Leah was dropping me off when it was _my _truck, but I decided it didn't matter and grabbed my backpack. "I'll see you then."

Leah nodded herself before she pulled out once I closed my door, watching her leave before I felt a tap on my shoulder. As I turned around it felt like my face was smacked with an ice cube, a strong icy scent invading my nostrils as I noticed Alice smiling apologetically.

My inner animal roared at the close proximity, wanting to tear apart this enemy, and I tried my best to keep my emotions in check. "What?" I asked.

It may have come off a bit harshly, especially with my growl, and I watched as the tiny girl before me stiffened. "I just wanted to apologize. Edward— He stood you up because he heard that I kissed you."

My eyes narrowed into slits as I looked at her, clenching my jaw tight before I shook my head. "I don't want to hear it, Alice," I said before I walked past her, making sure my shoulder brushed against her hard one, and headed towards my locker.

"Damn, Bella looks _pissed._"

"Who pissed in her Wheaties this morning?"

"I don't want to be the one on the receiving end of that rage."

Other murmurs surrounded me, causing my hands to curl into fists as I glanced around at the students who were whispering about me behind my back, like they didn't think I could hear them.

But I could.

"_Bella, you're going to hear things you never wished to hear when you go back to school," _Sam had warned me minutes before Leah and I made the trip to Forks High School. _"It might make you angry, but you have to remember that you _can't _let your anger control you. If you get too angry, you will unleash your wolf and we do _not _want our secret to be exposed. Control yourself, alright?"_

He had spoken with the tone of authority given to him as the Alpha and I took a deep breath, knowing I had to obey his words.

I found myself in my classroom without having any problems and I was in my seat with my head in my hands when I heard the stool being scooted across the floor, louder than I was used to given my new highly sensitive hearing.

Edward remained quiet, surprisingly, but I didn't give him the satisfaction of me talking to him about why he stood me up. Instead I tried to focus my attention away from his annoying sweet stench and the way it seemed to burn my nose hairs before I finally managed to get away from him.

During lunch I sat by myself, not wanting to talk to anyone. I knew that if someone did try to talk to me, I'd probably get pissed and anger equals transformation, which is something I knew that Sam didn't want. So I ate my food by myself, counting down the seconds until I would be out of this hell hole.

"I don't know what's going on, Edward," I heard someone hiss under their breath, and I quickly used my peripherals to see Edward and Alice leaning in closely to one another. "All I know is that she _growled _at me."

They were talking about me. Now, I had gotten used to hearing people hear about me, especially with several of the sluts going on and on about how they would be able to rock Edward's world in a way I could never imagine. Regardless, I chewed on a piece of my apple nonchalantly as I tried to focus my attention towards their table, acting like I wasn't listening in on them.

"Well, it seems to me that she isn't a mongrel," Edward snorted. "If she were, she'd obviously look like one. I'm sure her hair would be matted and she'd have fleas bouncing off of her."

I tried to keep myself from rolling my eyes due to his comment; obviously he was assuming incorrectly about us. We didn't have fleas (or, at least, I hadn't seen one on me yet) and my hair was definitely not matted.

"She's a girl, Edward, of course her hair isn't matted," Alice said. "I can't believe you ditched her, to be honest. What were you thinking? You could've met up with her."

"I was thinking that no soul mate of mine would even consider the thought of kissing a girl, let alone my own sister, and then to hear that she was going to keep it from me? Really, Alice, you should be more careful when you tell Kate stuff." Edward took a deep breath. "Still, I have every right to believe that Bella is mine."

"I doubt that's the case, Edward," Alice scoffed. "If she was your soul mate, she would've said yes the _minute _you asked her out. Yet she hesitated. She's not yours."

"And how can you be so sure?" Edward asked, and just the tone of it made me want to stand up and walk over to him and slap the living hell out of him. It was arrogant and smug.

I could feel the blood in my veins start to boil because of this and I thought it was time that I get out of here to cool down. After all, I didn't want to give Edward the knowledge that I was a "mongrel", as Edward put it. I quickly headed to my next class, finding a seat and keeping my concentration on my school work.

Throughout the rest of the school day I focused solely on keeping my emotions in check, especially when I was near Edward or heard Edward remarking about how I couldn't be "one of the flea-ridden mutts". Thankfully, when the bell rang, I was out of my seat in a heartbeat and heading out of the building, my gaze centered on the direction I knew my truck would come.

"Bella," I heard someone call my name and I turned around to see Edward walking towards me, one hand in his pocket and another gripping the strap of his backpack. "I wanted to talk to you."

"Well, you could've done that in Biology, couldn't you?" I asked, raising an eyebrow as I crossed my arms. "You want to explain why you stood me up?"

He looked at me cautiously but I noticed that his eyes darkened slightly. The wind blew from behind him, bringing his scent in my direction. I fought the urge to reach up and cover my nose as I watched Edward pursing his lips, waiting for a reaction to what I had asked. "I'm sure my sister told you," he said, raising an eyebrow. "Didn't she?"

I snorted. "Does that matter? I want to hear it from you."

"I suppose I owe you that much," Edward sighed before he stood up straight, taking his hand out of his pocket. "I…overheard my sister talking about how you two had kissed and I was infuriated. How could you do that to me, Bella? With my own sister?"

"Do what to you? Last I recall, we weren't exclusive," I said just as I heard the sound of a familiar engine nearing. Good; I wasn't sure how much more of this I was able to take. "And that gave you no right to _dump_ me."

"I never dumped you, Bella," Edward corrected, shaking his head with a small smile. "I was upset but I didn't want to dump you. Please, will you let me make it up to you?"

"Why?" I asked. "So you can stand me up again? So I can go to Port Angeles and wait for you until I get a text that tells me that you don't want to go out anymore? So that I can almost get raped by two drunken douchebags again?"

Edward stiffened at my words. "You were almost raped?"

I nodded. "Bet you didn't see that coming."

"How did you manage to not get raped?" he asked cautiously. "I'm gathering that these men were…bigger than you?"

"What? Can't believe a girl can actually stand up for herself? I hate to tell you, Edward, but it's the twenty-first century. Girl's aren't as hopeless as you'd think," I said just as I heard a whistle. I turned around to see my truck entering the parking lot. Leah was a driving but there were three boys in the back, all shirtless and glaring in my direction as Leah stopped the truck. Jake, along with Quil and Embry, stood up on the truck bed as they looked in my direction. Jake jerked his head in my direction, motioning me to come towards him, and I nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow, Edward," I said before I headed in that direction.

Well, when I attempted to, at least. Edward had reached around to grab my wrist, his hold tight enough to hold back an ordinary human, but not me.

Instead of jerking my arm from his grip, I glared at him. "Let go of me. Now," I growled, my hand curling into a fist.

"No, Bella," Edward said. "They are dangerous. You shouldn't hang with them."

I jerked my hand from his grip and turned to face him. "And you think you're the best judge of that?" I asked, taking a step closer so that we were almost touching. "You think they're dangerous?"

"I don't think, Bella, I know," Edward stated. "Let me drive you home and protect you from those…animals."

My eyes shrank as I glared at him again. "Big words coming from you, Cullen."

"It's the truth," he said, his eyes flashing to my truck before he sighed. "And, of course, they're coming this way."

I looked over my shoulder to see not only Jake walking this way, but Quil, Embry and Leah as well. Their expressions mimicked each other's as they walked close with their lips pressed together to form a fine line, a crease on their forehead before they stopped behind me.

"I was handling it," I hissed to Jake, but he didn't seem to notice. Instead, he jutted out his arm in front of me and took a step close to look at Edward face to face.

"We're animals, huh?" Jake asked as he growled in Edward's face. Jake was an inch or two taller than Edward, and he definitely had a more intimidating size than the guy before him. "Then what the hell does that make you?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, _mongrel_," Edward sneered, glaring at the larger boy. "I would take it in your best interest to walk away before I make you wish you hadn't gotten out of that truck bed."

"Oh, boy," I heard Leah mutter under her breath. "That did it."

"Listen, _leech_, you need to stay the fuck away from Bella," Jake growled again. "You had your shot and now you've fucked it up, so it would be in _your _best interest to leave her the fuck alone."

Edward looked smug. "Your vulgar language only reflects the animal you truly are. Turn around with your tail between your legs and I _won't _disgrace you in front of your…" he glanced at the two boys next to me. "Brothers and the rest of the school."

"Embry, take Bella away," Leah whispered. "This might get ugly," she said before she grabbed Jake's arm. "Don't, Jake," she told him with a growl, but he wasn't listening.

I noticed that his arms were starting to shake a bit, signaling that he was losing his cool. I was about to step in and help him when I felt Embry's hand on my arm, shaking his head at me before he tugged me away just as I watched Jake tightening his jaw.

We made it to the trees, away from the argument that was bound to happen between Jake and Edward, and Embry sighed before he turned to me. "Jake's not the newest one, but still…we've all got to work on our tempers, especially when we're near the bloodsuckers."

I nodded as I realized we couldn't hear them. "Yeah, that makes sense. The scent nearly drove me insane," I added with a small chuckle, trying to lighten the mood.

"Yeah…" Embry trailed off before he sighed again. "Bella, I-I know."

"Know what?" I asked, but when he looked at me with his lips pursed and his eyebrow raised, I knew _exactly _what he meant.

He was there when I first changed, when I didn't _know _how to filter my private thoughts and the ones I wanted to share.

He knew…that I was gay.

Well, this was going to be awkward.

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><p><strong>AN: Oh, my God. School sucks so much. I'm sorry I'm not able to get these out sooner but sheesh, school really takes a lot of time out of your day. Anyway, this is Chapter Fourteen and I had this written about...a month ago maybe? Haha, I'm not sure. But I changed things around. Like the fact that shifters don't smell to vampires, whoo, which is why Alice and Edward didn't know she was one, yep.**

**Anyway, leave me a nice review, please? They make me want tow rite more. :)**


	15. Chapter 15

**Loong wait, I know, and I apologize, but I've finally been around to getting some time to write. :)**

**The Twilight Saga is the rightful property of Stephenie Meyer. I only take credit for my own ideas.**

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><p><strong>Chapter Fifteen<strong>

Embry still had his lips pursed and his head cocked to the side five minutes after I realized what he meant. I wasn't entirely sure how to approach the subject, especially since I hadn't talked to _anyone _about it, except for Alice, and now that she was my enemy, there was no _way _I could talk about this with someone I grew up with.

"I—" I started before closing my mouth with an audible snap. I wasn't sure what to say.

"It's okay, Bella, really," he said, his lips curling upwards. "If you want to talk, we can, if you don't, that's cool, just know that you're not alone here."

"I—I don't know what you're talking about," I stated before I turned on my heel and crossed my arms, trying to keep the boy from seeing my expression.

That didn't last for too long, because I could hear the crunch of the grass under his tennis shoes before I felt his hand on my shoulder.

"Bella, come on, I was there when you first phased," he started, staying where he was as if it was okay to talk to my back, "and I could…hear the thoughts you had about Leah." My body stiffened. "I'm not going to tell anyone, but…if you want someone to talk to, _trust _me, you're not alone."

Swallowing a lump in my throat, I slowly turned towards him, looking up at his friendly smile and twinkling brown eyes before licking my suddenly dry lips. "I—I don't know what to say."

Embry only shrugged, smile still intact. "You don't have to say anything. I can try to ask Sam if me and you can be on patrols together, that way…in case you do still need help controlling your thoughts, you won't spill something to someone you didn't want to know."

I pursed my lips and looked at him, cautious about his angle. _Why _was he offering to do this? Yes, I knew we were friends but…why was he willing to keep it a secret? "Why?" was all I managed to get out before I pursed my lips in an attempt to keep myself quiet, for fear that I might say something _else _I wouldn't want him to know.

He took a step forward and my instant reaction was to take a step back, wary of his movements. He twisted his mouth to the side but stood still before letting his mouth curve upwards in a smile. "Because…Because I understand it, Bella."

"How? It's not like you have this huge crush on your best friend and you can't tell anyone about it because you _know _it's wrong and people will judge you harshly for no other reason than to do so." I hadn't noticed my fists had clenched as I had spoken, but the harsh sting of my nails digging into the flesh of my palms alerted me. Taking a deep breath, I slowly let my hands open up, watching Embry's reaction.

Surprisingly, he chuckled lightly and shook his head. "We're one in the same, Bella," he said, casting yet another smile.

What did _that _mean? "One in the same?" I asked aloud, hoping to get some sort of information out of the boy. "What-You've got a crush on your best friend? Me? Oh God, Embry. No, no. I-I can't…I'm not…"

Embry took a step closer again, only this time I didn't move backwards. His expression was full of humor as looked at me, his eyes sparking with some hidden emotion I couldn't decipher. "No, Bella. I meant…I'm like you." He said the words slowly, as if to emphasize his point and they were drilled into my head.

Like. Me. Did he mean that…he was…gay? "You're…?" I started, pausing because I wasn't sure if he had accepted it about himself yet.

"Gay?" he finished for me before nodding. "Yeah, I am. I realized I was about two years ago and Jake…well…I've always had a soft spot for him."

Oh. _Oh. _That would explain why Embry was always touching Jake on the arm, even if it was slight pushing. "Oh…"

"Like I said, you aren't alone," he said with a smile. "The pack can't even make fun of you for it. Well, at least they won't when Sam gives the order. You were lucky; I phased when Paul was in the link and once he heard my thoughts, I didn't hear the end of it until Sam told him to shut up. He's really a good guy; we didn't really give him credit."

I pursed my lips. That seemed to be the general consensus, that Sam was better than everyone had imagined him to be. I wasn't sure, but I guess only time would tell. "Can you like…not mention this to anyone?" _Especially Leah._

Embry nodded. "The first step is to accept it yourself. You seem to be on the grasp of that, but I hope….for your sake, it's soon. I don't want to see you lying to yourself because Bella…I know how much it hurts. Just remember that."

He pursed his lips then, turning his head in the direction of the school before he nodded. "Alright. Jake and the others are going to take the truck to Emily's place. Me and you, on the other hand, are going to get into our wolf forms."

"We-We are?" I asked, slightly nervous. I wasn't even sure how to become my other self, my wolf, as the last time was a completely involuntary experience.

Embry must've noticed my change in expression and he chuckled a bit. "Don't worry, I'm going to help you get back to your wolf form. It's a bit hard at first, but…you just need to think of something that makes you angry."

"Well, what do you use?" I asked, shifting my feet awkwardly. "Maybe if I knew what you used, it would give me an idea."

"That's a good idea. When I first transformed, I transformed because there were these guys at my school. They were joking around, I know, but they were making…homophobic slurs. They weren't directed towards me, of course, but they still hurt. And then another person came up…someone who is a close friend of mine though I doubt you know him, and with all seriousness he said that "all fags should die". That infuriated me to know that…to know that my friend could be so cruel. By then my stomach was starting to bother me so I asked to leave and I was on my way home when it happened." Embry paused then, gauging my reaction.

"I…" I had no words. That must've been a cruel thing for Embry to listen too, to remember those words and have them be the cause for being a monster. "I'm sorry."

Embry shrugged. "Don't be. Now I can be a protector of La Push," he said with a grin before walking towards me. "So what got you mad?"

"Oh, God," I said, reaching up to rub my hands against my temples. I didn't want to relive that night, the memories of those two scumbags walking up to me with lust in their eyes. Anger coursed through my veins, my eyes shut tight as I tried my hardest to forget about the night where I almost…where I almost got raped. I gnawed on my bottom lip with my teeth, trying to keep myself from screaming out in anger.

"Almost there," I heard Embry whisper. "Hold on to that. Keep thinking about that."

I nodded the best I could as I remembered the way Raoul had licked his lips and adopted that sinister smile before revealing that knife. And then I remembered how I ended up in that position; dumped via a text message ten minutes after we were supposed to meet, dumped by Edward _Cullen_, a vampire.

Suddenly I felt myself explode, the sound of cloth tearing echoing through the trees before I felt the adrenaline subside, replaced by a powerful feeling, a feeling where I knew I was stronger and faster than I once was. Opening my eyes I could see that I was up higher than normal, most likely because my wolf form was taller than my human, and I glanced at Embry to see he was snickering.

A growl came through my muzzle as I glared at the boy and he quickly lifted his hands up in defense, trying to contain his laughter.

"I-I'm sorry, Bella. I just…I forgot to tell you to strip. I'm sorry," he apologized before he started to undo the buttons on his shorts.

_What? No! No! Don't you _dare _strip in front of me! God, no. Nuh-uh, nuh-uh, no. I can't…No. Don't. I swear to G-_

_Bella, _a familiar voice sounded in my head and I recognized it as Sam's, and I immediately stopped my inner chatter. _This is something you're going to have to get used to. Stripping yourself of your clothing in front of your brothers, and sisters, is a normal step that must be taken to prevent the damage of clothes. You may not like it, but we have all seen each other._

_Wait…what?_

Sam sighed. _Nevermind… _he muttered just as I noticed Embry transforming into a big mass of grey fur, shaking his head as he completed the change.

_What'd I miss? _he asked, peering at me with his human-like eyes. It was weird, seeing wolves with human eyes but at least I knew _why_. Not that I wanted to, anyway.

Sam cleared his throat. _I assume you're going to continue to help Bella with her control over her thoughts, Embry? _

_Yeah, I am, _Embry said before he took a noticeable pause. _You know how you…helped me out with Paul? _he started and when we noticed Sam listening, he continued, _we could probably use that…for Bella's sake, anyway._

_I see… _Sam trailed off and I could sense his inner gaze turning to stare at me with a questionable eyebrow raised. _Yes, well, if it does become a problem, just inform me. I should be getting back to supervise Seth…Aiden is seeing him right now. I'll be sure to have Leah bring out a set of clothes for you when you get here, Bella._

And with that, he disappeared from the mind-link, a small shimmer going through the air that could only be felt by me and Embry.

_I guess we should get going… _Embry said, trotting out in front of me before he stopped. _Have you ever wondered what color you are?_

I shook my head. _No, not really. _Of course, now I was curious. I knew that Embry was grey and that Sam was black, but I wasn't really aware of what color _I _was, let alone the rest of the pack.

_Look through my eyes._

_What? Look through your…huh?_

_Look through my eyes. It's something we can do. It's cool and it's helpful. Just do it._

_O…okay… _I thought warily before I tried my best to get into the boy's mind. Surprisingly, it was easier than I thought and soon I could see myself through his eyes.

It was…weird. I wasn't sure it was myself until I moved a paw, watching as the pure white wolf lift one in the same movement, and I watched with awe as the slight wind blew against my fur.

I was…I was a _gorgeous _wolf. I wasn't as tall as Embry; he had a few inches on me, nor was I as large or bulky. My frame was leaner and my legs seemed a tad bit longer, my tail swaying against the brush absentmindedly.

_Yeah, I know. You're a very pretty wolf, _Embry said with a roll of his eye and it felt like I could feel him pushing me out of his eyes. _Now come on, _he said as he started to walk deeper into the trees, _we need to get to Emily's so Aiden can see you._

_Wait…Emily…Aiden… _I thought as I started to follow him.

Embry chuckled. _Right, you don't know everyone that knows. Emily is…well, she's Sam's girlfriend. Emily Young, I think you know her, _he said, pausing to let me remember her.

The name sounded familiar, but I could put a face to it. _I-_

_She's Leah's cousin._

_Oh, _I simply thought before I stopped in my tracks. _Wait…Sam dumped Leah to be with her cousin? _That was a jerk move.

_It's…not like that, Bella. Not at all, _Embry sighed. _Anyway, we all either meet up at her house or Aiden's house, though Aiden typically likes to go to Emily's because she can cook and he…well…can't, _he chuckled. _Aiden is Jared's older brother. His real name is Jeremiah, but he goes by Aiden because for some reason their parents named all of their boys' with J names and they thought it would be easier to go with their middle names, though Jared doesn't like his so he doesn't go by it. Their younger brother, Cole, is actually Jonah but…yeah._

_So…Jared's brother knows about…what we are? And Emily does too? _I thought as I started to run after Embry, right on his heel as we ran to Emily's house.

_Well…yeah, it's complicated. Aiden is a member of the council, which is surprising, I know, considering that the other members are very…well…not his age, _he chuckled again. _Anyway, Aiden knows about the pack and he was able to spot the signs before Jared phased and told the council, and Sam, before it had happened. They kind of like to look out for everyone. And…Emily knows because…well…it's complicated, just like with the whole Sam and Leah thing. I'm sure Sam will tell you._

I couldn't really understand who Aiden was, but all I knew was that he was Jared's brother and he knew about the pack, about us. _And why is he seeing Seth?_

Embry laughed. _I'm sure you noticed that we all have tattoos, right? Well, Aiden's kind of a tattoo artist and he's the one who inks us. Seth is getting his and then you and Leah are going to get yours. We would've done it over the weekend but we got kind of surprised by your change and then we had to wait until you were able to get back to your human form and…yeah._

_Oh…okay then…_

_Now, let's try to get you to stop your mind from slipping any unwanted thoughts through, huh?_

That's what we did for the remainder of the run and when we finally made it to where we needed to be, Leah was standing there with a pair of clothes in her hands, her lips pursed as she watched me walk up.

_Need help getting calm enough? _Embry asked as he moved towards a different part of the clearing, his back to us. _Or are you good at that?_

_I-I think I'm good at that, _I said before I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath as I focused on being calm, letting myself revert back to my human form. Soon enough I found myself on two feet and I opened my eyes to see Leah handing me my clothes. It took me awhile to realize that I was naked in front of her and as soon as I did my breath was caught in my throat. This…was…

Quickly I turned around, trying to hide my blush as I realized I was stark naked in front of her, licking my lip as I reached behind me to grab the clothes. "Thanks…" I said as I unfolded the clothes, slipping on the pants as quickly as I could.

"Wait," Leah said as I tried to put the shirt on. "You've got something on your back."

The grass crunched under her shoes and her fingers ghosted on my back, a shiver going through my spine at the touch. "What is it?" I asked, turning to look over my shoulder. From that quick glance I could see that Leah had her teeth in her bottom lip, her fingers sliding along my back before she stopped and pulled at something.

"A tick," she answered before she flicked it away. "Sometimes we get them."

"Oh…well, thanks," I said as I put the shirt back on, turning to face her with a smile on my lips. "So…we ready to get branded?" I joked as we started to go to the house.

"I guess," she mumbled and I immediately stopped.

"What's wrong?"

Leah sighed as she stopped and turned around to face me. "It's just…hard. To see _him_. With her."

_Right. The Emily thing. _"If it's any consolation, I think he's an ass."

"No, it's…it's not really his fault. I don't blame him," she said, but her tone was giving her away. She blamed him.

But I didn't blame her.

"Embry tried to tell me about it but…"

"He wouldn't know. Sam had to tell me himself because…well, obvious reasons," she sighed and looked me in the eye. "He imprinted on her."

"Im…print?"

"I'll explain after we get the tattoos. I could use some girl time," she said as she turned around again.

Girl time. I could use that, too.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: And there you have it. The next chapter. :)**


	16. Chapter 16

**The Twilight Saga is the rightful property of Stephenie Meyer. I only take credit for my own ideas.**

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><p><strong>Chapter Sixteen<strong>

Once we walked out of the trees, I was immediately greeted by a small house with a large truck parked in the driveway, my own sitting right behind it. The house was brown and cozy, the lights from inside emitting from the windows, giving it a warm feel. I could hear the sound of a machine whirring and the scent of freshly made cookies wafted to my nose.

"Let's get this show over with," Leah muttered under her breath as Embry caught up to us, a smile on his lips before he sniffed the air.

"Yes! Emily's making cookies!" he said before he ran inside.

I decided to follow Leah's lead of walking towards the house at a normal pace. I didn't want to seem like I was taking sides but, imprint or not (whatever imprinting was, anyway), it was still rude and a jackass move to dump your girlfriend for her cousin. Seriously.

As soon as we walked in, Embry ushered us to the kitchen. Once there, I could see just about everyone. Sam was sitting in a chair with a cookie to his mouth while Emily was checking on the oven. Seth was in a chair and next to him was a guy holding something sharp, it looked like a needle. Pursing my lips, I looked at the guy because he didn't look like anyone I recognized.

The first thing I noticed was that his entire left arm was covered in tribal designs, one's that looked thick and somewhat pointed. His black hair was cut short but not as short as most of the pack and he held a very close resemblance to Jared. Right…this must be Aiden.

"Easy, boy," he chuckled as Seth started to squirm under his touch, the needle pressing into Seth's skin. It looked like the tattoo was almost done, except for a part that needed to be colored in. "Don't want you to move around on me." His eyes casted upwards and he flashed me a smile. "Well, you must be Bella. Jared didn't mention you were a hottie."

"Hey!" Jake said, reaching over to slap Aiden but was stopped by Sam's hand on his wrist.

"Don't slap him while he's trying to ink Seth," he said, glaring at Jake before letting go. "Careful, Aiden. We don't want a mistake like last time."

Aiden snorted. "It wasn't my fault Jared thought I was going to give him a tattoo of a dick. He's the one who squirmed and messed me up."

Jake chuckled. "You should've, though, man. It would be hilarious."

Pursing my lips as I looked around, I noticed a sheet of paper lying on the table and I tilted my head to the side as I tried to focus on what it was. Aiden noticed the direction I was looking in and chuckled, nodding towards the paper. "It's a waiver for Seth here. Since he's under eighteen I have to get parent consent for a tattoo," he explained before he pulled the needle away from Seth's arm. "There, that should do it."

"So you're still abiding the laws?" I asked him, glancing at the waiver.

Aiden nodded. "Yeah. I don't want to get my license revoked or anything," he chuckled. "I had to get Billy to sign for Jake, too. I'm just thankful that most of you guys are over eighteen and don't need parent consent, especially when you don't have parents that know." He shrugged as Seth got up out of the chair inspecting his new tattoo. "Now, who's next?"

"Leah," Sam answered, glancing at her. "She, Seth and Jake have patrol rounds in a couple hours. I want the tattoo to be healed by the time she needs to shift."

"Right-o," Aiden nodded, tapping the chair with his foot. "Come on, Lee, I need to get this ink in you."

Leah took a deep breath and sat down in the chair, ignoring the use of her old nickname as she jutted out her arm for easier access to Aiden. "Just be fucking lucky I don't castrate you, Jeremiah," she said, glaring at the boy before she looked at me. "After you get yours, we'll talk," she said, giving me a faint smile.

It took Aiden about forty five minutes to finish up Leah's tattoo, and then another forty five for my own. It didn't hurt as much as I thought it did, but that was probably because I was much more acceptable to pain given my new found identity, and soon enough Leah and I were walking down the beach with our hands in our pockets.

I waited for her to speak first, unsure of what to say or how to start the conversation, and I looked at the beach as the tide came in, the sound of the ocean peaceful and calming.

"Imprinting is a big deal for us," Leah started, eyes focused on the ocean as she continued to walk. "It's where we find our soul mate, the one we're destined to be with. I think it's a load of bull, because there's no way you can look at someone and just…_know_."

I pursed my lips and looked at the sand as I walked, kicking a rock I saw in the way. "So it's like…love at first sight?"

"Not exactly," Leah sighed, shuffling her feet before she stopped and looked at me. "Apparently it takes awhile for it to kick in. Like your wolf knows who your soul mate is before you do, and it tries to draw you closer to her, or him, I guess for us, and it takes awhile because this person could be a complete stranger." She shook her head and looked back towards the ocean. "It just sucks that he had to imprint on Emily."

"I'm sorry, Leah," I said, reaching out to touch her before I realized that was probably the last thing she needed. Taking a deep breath, I ran a hand through my hair. "Do you…Do you think you'll imprint?"

Leah scoffed and shook her head. "God no. Who would want me? I'm a freak."

"Well, I'm a freak too," I said, giving her a faint smile and shrugging. "So I guess you and I will be single forever."

"Or we could just both get together," she chuckled. "Who needs men anyway, right?"

With a weak chuckle, I nodded. "Right," I said, averting my gaze and kicking the sand. I knew she didn't really mean it. I knew she was just joking, but still…the hope that welled in my heart was more than enough to make me think that this whole gay thing wasn't going to be as bad as I thought.

"LEAH, WE'VE GOT TO GO!"

Leah and I turned to the sound of the voice and we saw Seth at the edge of the beach, his hands cupped around his mouth to act like a personal megaphone before he waved us over.

"Guess I've got to go," Leah said with a sigh. "Set your alarm tonight. Sam will want you around ten or something, I bet," she said before she gave me a small wave. "I'll see you whenever, Bella."

I nodded and gave her a smile and a wave in return. "Yeah, see you."

* * *

><p>The sound of my alarm buzzing at eleven at night wasn't entirely something I wanted, especially since I had just gotten to bed at nine with my brother on the top bunk. As I quickly shut it off and switched it back to the morning setting that it was normally set to, I grabbed a pair of old clothes and the bungee cord that Sam had given me to tie my clothes around my foot. While I wrapped the cord around my ankle, I heard Chuck stir in his bed before a faint "Bella" was groaned out.<p>

Standing up so that I could see Chuck in his bunk, peering over the ledge to look at me with squinted eyes, I gave him a small smile. "What is it, Chuck?" I asked in a soft whisper.

"Where are you going? It's eleven…on a school night…" he murmured, eyes still lidded.

"I have to go out, Chuck. _Don't _tell anyone, alright?" I asked before I moved to our window and opened it.

"Wait…Is that a _tattoo_?" he asked, his eyes widening as I noticed them zeroing in on my arm. "What's gotten into you, Bella? Sneaking out, getting a tattoo and not coming home until late?"

Taking a deep breath, I turned to face him with my hand pressed against the window sill, trying to think of something to say that would be acceptable. "It's hard to explain, Chuck. I'm not doing anything wrong, though, alright?"

I could tell he wasn't convinced but he rolled his eyes and turned over, disappearing. "Yeah, yeah, whatever," he muttered. "Just don't wake me up when you get back in."

Pursing my lips, I slid out of the window, landing on my feet with ease before I ran into the trees. Once I was under the cover of the trunks, I shed my clothes and grabbed the cord from around my ankle, unwrapping it and sticking my clothes to the spot where it had once been before I used the bungee cord to secure it in place.

Soon enough, I took off towards the trees and leapt into the air, expecting to phase but only ended up landing on my feet. "For fuck's sake," I muttered through gritted teeth before I tried again, this time successful as I landed on my paws.

"I knew it," I heard a voice sound from behind me and I quickly turned around to see Alice standing there, her golden-brown eyes shining in the dark. The scent that had radiated off of her earlier in the day had seemed to intensify as it wafted towards my snout through the light breeze, causing me to cringe and take a step back.

God, they smelt _horrible_.

"I knew it from the moment I saw you today," she said, taking a step closer.

My inner wolf only growled in response, warning the girl that if she stepped any closer, she'd tear her to shreds. _Where is the pack when you need them?_

"Look, I'm sorry," Alice said, taking a step back, gauging my reaction. "I just…I can't believe it was true. You're one of _them_."

As if on cue, a large black wolf jumped into the clearing between us, growling at the petite vampire as his hackles rose.

_I didn't want you to give away that I was coming, _Sam thought in between growls. _She would have run._

_Uh…okay…_

Alice watched Sam with cautious eyes, taking a step back as she raised her hands up in defense. "I meant no harm. I just wanted to talk."

Sam gave out a growl. _First they talk, then they rip you apart. We aren't going to stand for it._

"Would you be willing to meet with my entire family? You could bring your entire pack if you want. My father, Carlisle, he is the patriarch to our family and much like the alpha as you are."

Sam glared at the girl before I heard a _Embry, phase and tell her tomorrow at ten, _before he took a step back, watching the trees as he waited for the aforementioned boy to step forward.

A minute later, he did, his hands in his shorts pockets as he walked up. "Tomorrow at ten," Embry said, glancing at the petite vampire before sighing. "We need time."

Alice nodded and turned on her heel. "I can give you time." And like that, she was gone.

Taking a deep breath, Embry headed back to the trees, unzipping his pants and shimming them down to his ankles before he disappeared.

_This isn't good, _Sam thought, shaking his head. _They're probably worrying about you since you're now one of us and you're technically on their territory. We probably need to tell them why you aren't living on the reservation with the rest of us._

_Because I'm not a Quileute, that's why._

Sam sighed and turned around to face me. _We're holding a meeting tomorrow to discuss it but…_

_But what?_

_We're 90% sure you have Quileute in you, Bella, and…as much as I don't want you to think about it, you're going to have to._

_Think about what?_

_Think about the fact that your mother cheated on your father to conceive you._

Oh, well that was…pleasant.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Oh my God, finally she updates. Yes, yes, I am finally back from the dead. Or something, anyway. This update is a little "I'm sorry for not updating sooner" gift, but life got in the way. I know it's shorter, but the next one is looking longer, I promise. I'm working on it, but I can't promise when it'll come up, but I do want to say I hope you continue to stick with me and this story, as I like where it's going to go in the next couple of chapters.****


	17. Chapter 17

**The Twilight Saga is the rightful property of Stephenie Meyer; I only take credit for my own ideas.**

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><p><strong>Chapter Seventeen<strong>

As the moon started to drift down the dark night sky, I managed to slip inside my house with ease, taking a calming breath as I glanced around my silent and otherwise dark room, almost too dark for human eyes to see. When I realized I was alone I breathed a sigh of relief and turned towards my bottom bunk before I heard something shift in the other room and the door suddenly swung open, revealing my father standing in the doorway with his arms crossed.

"Dad!" I quipped in surprise, jumping up and offering a small smile before I faked a yawn. "What are you doing up? I just had to go to the bathroom…"

"Don't start bullshitting me, Bella," he said before he glanced at the top bunk, jerking his head behind him. "Downstairs. We need to talk."

Swallowing the lump in my throat I nodded and followed him downstairs, closing the door behind me quietly before I sat down on the couch, my dad standing near the chair that he usually sat in.

"Am I in trouble?" I asked meekly, pursing my lips. The answer was in his eyes, though. Of course I was in trouble. Of course that was the reason he called me down to the living room at three in the morning.

Dad raised an eyebrow at me. "Are you in trouble? You bet your ass you're in trouble. Tell me why, when I went in to check on you and Chuck at 12, that you weren't in your bed and your window was open? That I stayed up until _three _before you even came home? Or why you've suddenly got a tattoo on your arm!"

My eyes widened. Damn. I thought I had hid it better with my clothes, but Dad obviously had some good detective work under his belt. "I…"

I had no idea how to tell him, how to explain it without revealing my secret so I snapped my mouth shut and looked at the floor, knowing that my father would be disappointed in my lack of an answer.

"Damn it, Bella, I thought me and your mother raised you better than this? I thought we raised you better than to lie to us?" he said, shaking his head with obvious disappointment. "Are you going to tell me _why _you got a tattoo or why you were out at three in the morning?"

Pursing my lips, I looked into my father's face, noticing the disappointment in his eyes before I sighed and shook my head, the possibility that he might not be my father running through my head. That wouldn't be something I'd be interested in finding out…because…what if it was true? "No sir," I answered, moving my gaze to the floor.

Dad let out a breathy sigh and I looked up to see him wave me off. "You're grounded until further notice. You're only allowed to leave the house for work and school. No friends and _especially _no dirt bikes."

Running a hand through my hair, I sighed and nodded. "Yes, dad," I said before I stood up and headed to my room, closing the door behind me before I sat on my bed, my hands clenched together as I realized I disappointed my father. I hated this. Hated that I couldn't tell him that the reason why I wasn't around as much was because I had a duty to protect my family, my friends, and complete strangers from monsters.

And that I was a monster, too.

* * *

><p>"<em>W<em>_hat do you mean you can't make it?"_ Jake's voice rang through the speaker on my phone as I waited out in the courtyard, the only person sitting out there in the September drizzle, cellphone pressed to my ear. _"You _have_ to, Bella."_

"Don't give me that, Jake. Don't you think I know that?" I half-growled into the phone. "I'm grounded. I can't make it. Sorry to break it to you."

He gave a breathy sigh into the phone._ "Look, you're a protector now. You're going to have to do things that will get you into trouble. Including breaking punishments. Embry had to do so with his mom, and you're going to need to tonight."_

"Are you trying to tell me that I have to sneak out of the house? You know my dad. He's the chief of police. I don't think he's going to let me go that easily."

"_You have to, Bella," _Jake said with another sigh. _"It's just something you're going to have to get used to doing."_

"Ugh!" I shouted, pressing the end button on my phone. "Fucking asshole."

"Who is?" A voice asked from behind me and I quickly turned around to see Alice standing right in front of the door, her lips pursed as she looked at me, her dress blowing in the slight wind that brought her scent to my nose.

Quickly I covered my nose with my hand, taking a step back. "You, obviously," I growled out, my inner animal reacting to the monster that was in close proximity.

Alice's eyes narrowed into slits and she took a step close. "No, I wasn't. You're just saying that because you can't accept the truth."

"And what might that be, _leech_? That you're going to drain me dry? Accepted that long ago, thanks for wondering."

"Right," Alice scoffed before rolling her eyes. "You know that I know, Bella. We _kissed _for crying out loud."

Clenching my hands together, I could tell that my defenses were falling and that I'd break down in front of her any minute now. "So?"

"So…I could out you, very, very easily, might I add," Alice said, though her voice gave her away. She wouldn't do that, _couldn't _do that. "All I want you to do is talk to me."

"Talk. We've got five minutes."

"How are you one of them?" she asked, taking a step closer with her expression wary as she approached me. "We thought…We thought it was only secluded to the Quileute tribe, that they were the only ones with the gene."

I looked at her with my lips pursed, unsure if I should answer her or not, before I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know what to tell you," I said with a small sigh. "I honestly don't know. Maybe you were wrong," I said before I headed to the door. "I've got to go."

"You _just _told me we have five minutes."

"What can I say? I can't stand the smell of your stench," I said before I headed into the cafeteria with a sigh, ignoring the glares from her bronze-haired brother.

I was in for a _long _day.

* * *

><p><em>D<em>_o we have to meet up with the vampires? _Paul whined as we all ran towards the Cullen house after meeting up at a secluded lumber yard. _I mean, really. We've got to stand downwind of their stench? Why can't we fucking do this over the phone, huh?_

_Quiet, Paul,_ Sam ordered as we neared the Cullen house, the smell burning our sensitive noses as we approached. _Alright. Guys take the left, girls on the right. Meet back up here, _Sam ordered and with a nod, he and the rest of the guys headed to the left, getting ready to phase.

When they were gone from the mind-link, Leah took a deep breath. _He always talks about how we're "one of the guys" yet he treats us like we're not allowed to look at their junk. It's horrible._

_Let's think of it this way; we can admire what we've got, _I thought before I immediately wanted to smack myself. It was definitely a good thing Embry had helped me with my control over my thoughts because now I was free to curse myself out for my stupidity.

Thankfully, though, Leah only chuckled. _Right. They'll be the only boys in the yard that our milkshakes won't bring in._

_Lame, Leah. So lame, _I chuckled back before I calmed myself down enough to transform, sliding into my clothes soon after. Turning around, I spotted Leah flashing me a smile as she straightened out her shirt.

We walked out of our small little clearing to meet up with the guys, Embry glancing at me curiously and we walked next to one another as the pack headed towards the Cullen house, Sam leading us. The house was huge and definitely not something you'd expect from a group of vampires, especially with the glass windows that seemed to draw the sunlight in.

"There are more vampires here than the ones you'd expect," Sam called out, looking over his shoulder as he continued to walk. "A lot more than just the two that attend school with you, so be careful." Sam looked ahead then, his posture tense as he walked up the stairs.

I took a deep breath and glanced over at Leah and Embry, who looked at me in return with a small smile, before the door opened, revealing a blonde haired male I hadn't seen before. His eyes were a light topaz, similar to the eyes I had seen on Alice and Edward yet they were more…lighter, if that were possible, and the smile on his lips was a clear indication that he didn't mean any harm.

Of course, the thing that struck out the most to me was how…well…how handsome he was. I suddenly felt like I had walked into some ABC drama about doctors that had silly nicknames like McSteamy and McDreamy and he was one of the cast members.

His eyes met mine and, if it was even possible, his smile grew a little more before he nodded and held the door open for us.

"Please, come in," he said in a smooth voice, one that would make hormonal teenagers quiver at their knees in a heartbeat, and he looked over all of us. "Thank you for taking the time out of your day to visit."

"You're the one who wanted us," Sam said, his tone harsher than I was expecting. This vampire seemed to be acting civil…why mess with that? "We came because you said it was urgent and important."

The vampire nodded. "Of course," he said before he turned to look at us. "My name is Carlisle Cullen. I am…the patriarch of this coven, I suppose you could say," he said with a smile before he looked at me. "You must be Bella. I've heard a lot about you."

I froze and furrowed my brow as I tried to realize what he said before I remembered that both Alice and Edward had a fascination with me and that they, more than likely, spoke about me to their family.

"Don't just stand there, come inside. I promise, we don't bite," he said, giving us another smile before I heard an unfamiliar voice call out "Speak for yourself".

Most of the male members of the pack walked in first and I heard a throaty chuckle before a booming voice let out a "we should've instilled a no shirt, no shoes policy" in a teasing tone, followed by a smack to the head and a low "ow".

When I walked inside, my eyes widened at the number of vampires I saw. There were four other blondes, three females and one male, one brunette female and a large brunette male that looked like he belonged in the middle of a wrestling ring. I would've been threatened by him were it not for the large, goofy grin that was on his lips, his eyes radiating with childish mischief as he looked at us one by one.

"I can see why Eddie-boy liked her," the large male said as his eyes fell upon me, his grin growing wider. The blonde that sat next to him, one that looked like she belonged on the runway for Victoria's Secret or Maxim, scowled and smacked him upside the head, her eyes turning into slits as she looked at me.

Immediately I sunk under her glare and I glanced around to see Alice standing behind the blonde with a golden tint to her hair, Alice's lips pursed as the vampire turned to look at me. Her eyes were welcoming and friendly and she offered a small smile before turning to look at Alice and I understand that this must've been her girlfriend. Or something. I didn't know how it worked with vampires.

Sam's eyes were dark and narrow as he looked around at all of the vampires in the room, his posture tense before he turned to look at Carlisle. "Tell us why you called this meeting, Cullen," he said, his voice dripping with venom and I pursed my lips, knowing that it wasn't my place to say how he should act.

Carlisle nodded. "My family and I have discussed the recent…influx of members to your pack and we are curious as to why there seems to be more of you than we would have anticipated."

"You ever thought that since you increased your numbers, we'd increase ours?" Paul sneered, his face contorting into a scowl as he clenched his fists. "_You're_ the reason we're al-"

"Paul," Sam spoke, his tone heavy as he looked over his shoulder to glare at the trembling male. "Enough." Turning back to look at Carlisle, he crossed his arms. "My Beta has a point, Carlisle, even if he is a bit brash about it," Sam said, clearing his throat. "Your…coven has four more vampires than when you had met with our ancestors in the past."

"Oh, great, so they put a memory chip inside the dog's brain now. Good to know," the blonde that sat next to the burly male sneered, her eyes never leaving her nails.

"Rosalie," Carlisle warned, looking at her with a quick glance before he turned back to Sam. "Yes, Kate, Irina, Jasper and Alice _weren't_ with us when we first arrived to the Olympic Peninsula."

Sam looked over at the four in question, his eyes narrowed before he turned to look at Carlisle. "The treaty clearly states no biting or feeding off of any humans. Clearly you broke that rule to create _these_," he waved at them to indicate who he was talking about, "four vampires. That is a breach of the treaty."

Carlisle held up his hands and smiled politely. "I assure you, Samuel Uley, that there has been no breach and there is no need for you to withhold with your tribe's part of the treaty. Jasper and Alice came to us twenty years after we left Washington and Irina and Kate are, in fact, far older than me. They were not changed by anyone from my family."

"Just get to the point, Carlisle. I'm tired of seeing their filth," the beautiful blonde, Rosalie I gathered from earlier, said, looking up at the male. "We want to know about _her_," she said, pointing her finger in my direction.

I had a feeling I was going to be the subject of this meeting and I pursed my lips, glancing downwards at the floor as Sam turned to look over his shoulder.

"Bella Swan has done nothing wrong. She has neither harmed nor hunted a Cullen."

Carlisle could only shake his head and chuckle. "No, no. We know that Bella hasn't brought any harm to us. We are merely…"

"We want to know how she's a wolf," the blonde male said, nodding in my direction. I didn't know his name but for some reason, I didn't like him. He seemed…he seemed tense and his eyes darted around, almost as if he couldn't control himself and he was fighting his urges…I didn't trust him. "We know that you believe that the…ability to become a wolf…is only held within the Quileute tribe, but it's evident that, clearly, it is not."

Carlisle held out his hand and looked at the blonde male with a warning glance before turning back to us. "What Jasper is trying to say is that we think it would…benefit both of us if we were to learn as to _why_ Bella is part of your pack."

"It's none of your business if she has Quileute blood in her or not," Jake started, and from the corner of my eye I could tell he was starting to tremble a bit.

"Jacob, step out. Now," Sam ordered, turning to look at the male that had spoken up before turning back to Carlisle. "We're not sure how she is a member of the pack as both Charlie and Renee Swan aren't of Quileute origins."

Carlisle pursed his lips before looking at me. "Bella, if I may speak to you," he started, eyes flashing to Sam to make sure he wouldn't object, "would you be willing to allow me to collect a blood sample? I could test your blood to see if there is any Quileute in your bloodline."

"I-"

"Of course, if you're not comfortable with me taking your blood, I can give you the necessary instruments to extract your own blood and you can drop it off at the hospital. If we do it that way, however, I want to ask that I get a sample from all of you. This will help me deduct if she is closer to any one of you so that we know, if she is Quileute, which lineage she is from." Carlisle explained before turning to Sam. "It won't be an invasion of privacy, I assure you. I will mainly test the DNA and nothing more."

Sam crossed his arms for a minute before turning to look at me, his eyes cautious before he nodded. "We need to get to the bottom of this."

Carlisle gave a small smile and nodded. "Let me grab the instruments," he said before he turned on his heel and left the room.

For some reason, I was afraid of what Carlisle would find. What if I _did_ have Quileute blood in me? Wouldn't that mean that…my mom cheated on my dad like Sam had suggested?

Either way, I didn't want to find out.

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><p><strong>AN: **So there is no excuse for my lack of update, I know, but I've been busy with classes and everything. Still, I hope this somewhat longer of a chapter makes up for it. I've been getting my muse back lately, as well, so updates _should_ be coming more frequently, but I can't promise anything.

I _can_ promise that the next chapter has some development on the BeLeah front. ;)


	18. Chapter 18

**The Twilight Saga is the rightful property of Stephenie Meyer. I only take credit for my own ideas.**

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><p><strong>Chapter Eighteen<strong>

"I can't believe you had the nerve to _agree_ with them," Harry shouted as he looked at Sam, glaring at the stoic Alpha as he crossed his arms, unnerved by the elder that was now yelling at him. "They are our enemy; we don't make deals with them."

"Once upon a time, Harry, we did," Sam replied back, raising an eyebrow at the elder. "Unless you forgot about the treaty our ancestors made with them."

Harry clenched his jaw in frustration before he shook his head and muttered something about 'Damn kids' under his breath, turning around to sit down on the couch in the Black home.

Billy, who had rolled up his wheelchair next to the couch, scratched his chin before looking over at Harry. "I'm afraid Sam did what he had to do…after all, we're all curious as to how Bella became one of us," he stated, looking over at me with his lips pursed into a fine line, one corner turned upwards as if he was giving me a look of pity.

Shifting in my seat, I tried to drown out the arguing of the elders and the Alpha, turning around to look outside of the window as Jake tossed a football to Embry. What if I was related to one of them? What if they were my brother? I couldn't even begin to fathom what would happen if that were the case.

Embry seemed to notice that I was watching the two of them as he looked into the window and gave me a small smile, only to be drilled in the head by the football that Jake threw, the latter of the two guys now hunched with laughter. "Come join us!" Embry mouthed as he rubbed his forehead, gesturing for me to come in with his other hand.

I contemplated leaving the Black home to join Embry and Jake in their little game, knowing that it would probably be better to hang out with my possible brother, before I felt a hand on my shoulder and I looked around to see Sam giving me a look of pity, much like the one Billy had looked at me with.

"How're you holding up?" Sam asked as he sat down at the table across from me, placing his hands on the wooden surface as he gave me a meaningful look. "You know, with everything."

Sighing, I turned around to face him, glancing over at Harry and Billy who were now bickering about some football game. "How do you think I'm holding up? I learned that my mom probably cheated on my dad and I have another brother."

Sam shrugged his shoulders. "I think you're doing better than someone could in your situation," he said, giving me a small smile. "You know, you're not the only one with a possible sibling in the pack."

Raising an eyebrow, I looked at Sam and snorted. "Yeah, right."

"No, it's true," Sam said before sighing. "Embry…He doesn't know it, but Embry's mother comes from the Makah tribe which means that, unfortunately, someone from our tribe is his father. Most people are hoping that it's my father because they can't stand to think that their father's cheated on their mothers."

This was brand new information to me and I swallowed the lump in my throat as I looked outside just as Quil tackled Embry to the ground, the two boys laughing as Jake jogged up to them. "But it's still different," I said, turning to look back at the Alpha that sat across from me. "_My_ mother is the one that cheated; Embry's mother didn't."

Sam sighed slightly and nodded. "Yeah, that's true. But we still aren't going to know for sure if our parents cheated. There are many males that come from the bloodline of the first shape shifter, Taha Aki, so it could be any number of them."

"No, but _mine_ did. My mom was _married_ to my dad. Or at least the man I thought was my dad until I became a giant fucking _wolf_."

Sam looked at me carefully. "Bella, you need to calm down. I understand this situation isn't one anyone wants to be in, but you have to calm down; we don't want Billy to lose any of his furniture."

"You try calming down, Sam. My whole _life _is a lie!" I shouted at him, the two adults in the room turning to look at me as my arms shook in slight tremors, giving the warning signs that I was getting close to shifting. "My mom has been keeping this a secret from me and my family, living with the…the knowledge that she _cheated_ on my dad, on the man she loves, and she _knows_ I'm someone else's kid. How the fuck do you expect me to calm down?"

Almost immediately, I felt a hand on my shoulder, a soothing and calming touch that made my shoulder loosen up under it and I turned around to see Leah giving me a meaningful smile. "Come on, let's get out of here," she said, glancing at the alpha in the room before turning away and leaving the house.

Breathing in through my nose, I looked at Sam to see him watching me carefully before I turned on my heel and followed Leah out of the house, closing the door behind me with a little too much force. Walking up behind Leah, I ran my hand through my hair and gave her a small smile. "Thanks for that," I said, taking a deep breath to keep myself from phasing. "I don't know what would've happened."

"Don't worry. I think we all have wanted to take it out on Sam at one point," she said with a shrug before nodding in a different direction. "If you want, we can go run or something? Something for you to blow off some steam."

I contemplated the offer; it was tempting but what would happen if I accidentally let it slip that I have a crush on her? Or the fact that I'm gay?

Embry must have sensed my internal dilemma because he walked up to us with a smile on his face, glancing at Leah before looking at me. "We were all thinking about going to Quil's place to play some video games. Would you ladies like to join us?"

I looked over at Embry with a smile, one that was grateful for his distraction, before I nodded. "Yeah, that actually sounds fun."

* * *

><p>"Shouldn't they have come back by now?" Jake whispered as soon as I walked away from the dinner table at the Black home, here for the almost weekly gathering of the Swan, Clearwater and Black men to watch the football game of the week. "It's been a week. Almost <em>two<em>."

"They said it was going to take a while when I handed the blood samples off," I said, recalling the words that Alice had said to me as I handed her a large brown paper bag, full of all of the blood samples that Carlisle had requested. _"It takes a while for test results to come back, so it might be two weeks to a month before we have anything. Carlisle will try rushing it, but there are no guarantees_."

"That's bullshit, though," Jake said with a snort, shaking his head. "Carlisle has pull at the hospital, I'm pretty sure he can get the results in two days."

I shrugged. "Hey, they have to use the resources for their patients first. Truth be told, I don't really _want _to know."

"Know what?" Chuck asked as he walked up behind Jake with a popsicle in his mouth, the red stain around his mouth enough to make me chuckle. "I want to know."

"How often I masturbate," Jake said smugly, placing his hands on his hips. "Still want to know?"

Chuck shook his head and walked away. "Ugh, no thanks."

I chuckled and looked at Jake. "Thanks."

"No problem," he said, patting my shoulder before he started to jog up towards Chuck.

The adults all laughed, then, and I turned around to look at them, watching as my mother patted Billy on the shoulder for the joke he had said. Pursing my lips, I wondered if Billy or Harry could be my father; both having been married but…still. What if? My mom would've been married and yet it was clear I wasn't Charlie's, so who knew?

"What's on your mind?" Leah asked as she walked up to me, looking over at the adults. "Trying to figure out if they could be your father?"

Sighing, I turned to look back at the adults and I shook my head. "It's just stupid…that's all I can think about lately."

Nudging her arm into my side, she gave me a small smile. "Well, how about we go to my house? I can cook us some hot dogs. Better than the greasy pizza Billy bought."

With a laugh, I nodded. "Yeah, that sounds great."

It didn't take us long to get to the Clearwater house, maybe five minutes at most, and as soon as I walked in I could hear Seth in his room, playing some kind of racing game. "So it's not just us?" I asked, looking at Leah.

She raised an eyebrow, a sly smile on her lips. "Did you want it to be just us?"

"What? N-No," I stammered, taken aback by her abrupt change, swallowing the lump in my throat as I freaked out internally. She must've known about my crush or something; why else would she say that? "I just thought Seth was out."

"Relax, Bella, I was just messing with you," she said as she headed over to the kitchen, pulling out a pot to fill with water. "Make yourself at home."

Nodding, I turned to the couch and sat on it, intertwining my hands as I took a deep breath, wondering why this whole crush thing was so hard.

"What has you thinking so hard?" Leah asked as she came to sit on the couch next to me, our legs brushing just slightly.

My breath hitched but I passed it off as a sigh, giving her a small smile. "Is it that obvious?"

She shrugged. "Not really; I guess it's just because I know you so well."

_You only _think_ you know me, Leah,_ I thought, pursing my lips before I licked my lips. "Have you ever liked someone…and you knew you shouldn't?" I asked, looking into Leah's mocha eyes, watching as the emotions changed in her eyes; from confusion to sympathy.

"Oh yeah," she said with a humorless chuckle. "I know _exactly_ what you mean."

_Does she…Does she like me back? _I thought, looking into her eyes for any sign that would confirm or deny my thoughts. "Really?"

Leah nodded. "Definitely." Raising an eyebrow, she shifted in her seat so that her body was turned more towards me. "Why are you thinking about that, though?"

"I just keep thinking that it'd be easier if I didn't like them, you know? It's just…I don't know," I shook my head.

"Well, they do say it's better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all," she said with a smile, nudging me softly as she tried to cheer me up. "You never know why you're going to like someone. Maybe it's because they're the one for you or maybe it's just so you're not lonely. We never know, you know?" she asked, a smile tugging at her lips.

I let out an exasperated chuckle. "You always seem to know what to say to make a girl feel better, don't you?" I asked, my voice quieter than normal as I watched the way she looked at me, her eyes flashing down briefly.

"A girl has to try," she said before she leaned forward slightly.

My breath hitched as I realized what she was doing, my gaze flickering to her lips for the briefest moment before I leaned forward, our noses brushing after we closed our eyes, lips grazing each other.

_Oh God, Oh God, Oh God,_ I kept thinking before I heard feet clatter their way towards the living room, breaking me out of my trance and I pulled away just in time to see Seth walking in, his eyes wide.

"Guys, Sam just called a pack meeting…Quil found something."

Talk about timing.

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><p><strong>AN: I know, I know. There are no excuses for why I haven't gotten this out in time, but truth be told, I've been overwhelmed with college and everything else. Anyway, here is a new chapter and I know a lot of you are probably hating the way it ended. But I love me some cliffhangers. Sue me.**

**The next chapter includes what Quil has found. Anyone want to take a guess?**


	19. Chapter 19

**The Twilight Saga is the rightful property of Stephenie Meyer. I only take credit for my own ideas.**

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><p><strong>Chapter Nineteen<strong>

Tripping over my feet, I tugged on my shirt hastily as I tried to run the best I could, half-eager and half-worried for whatever it was Quil found. It had to be important if Sam had called a pack meeting and Seth had interrupted what could've been the best kiss in my life; not that I had had that many, but still. Biting down on my lip, I straightened out my shirt as I walked inside of Emily's house, noting Quil's distraught expression as he held the letter in his hands.

"I can't believe it," he murmured under his breath, shaking his head in disbelief.

"He's been doing that for the past five minutes," Embry said as I walked up to him, looking over at me with his lips curled in a small apathetic smile. "You might want to talk to Sam."

As if on cue, Sam walked through the room and patted Quil's shoulder sympathetically before taking the letter from his hands and handing it to me. "Read this for yourself."

Pursing my lips, I slowly took the letter from Sam and unfolded it, reading the address. It was from my mother, addressed to Quil's dad.

_Dear Quil, _it read at first, and my breath hitched slightly. _I know you know that Charlie and I are fighting over the topic of children; as we talked about a few weeks ago with that bottle of whiskey, but…I don't even know how to tell you this…I'm pregnant. I keep going back in time, trying to add up the days and the weeks to make sure that I'm not just crazy, but the child is yours. I'm ninety percent sure I'm pregnant with your child, Quil, and I know that this will only be a burden in both of our marriages, so I'm not asking anything of you. I just wanted to tell you that you do have another child, as I feel you have a right to know. Please…Please don't tell Charlie. He thinks it's a miracle; he thinks that because we were fighting about having children I happened to get pregnant shortly thereafter. Please, Quil. Sincerely, Renee._

By the time I had finished reading the letter, my hands were shaking, causing the paper to crinkle and ruffle in my hands and, before I knew it, my knees hit the ground with a thud as I stared in disbelief at the letter.

"No," I whispered out through clenched teeth, the anger that coursed through my veins getting the better of me and making my arms convulse.

"Bella," I heard Sam warn, his tone cautious.

I wasn't having it. Instead, I got to my feet and ran out of the door and towards the Black house, my line of eye sight almost read as my feet carried me forward. By the time I reached the small red house, there was only a small something preventing me from going and shifting into my wolf form, and that was confirmation of the truth.

"_You," _I spout out, eyes narrowed into slits as I glared at my mother, fist clenched as she looked at me in disbelief. Jake and Chuck both looked at one another cautiously before glancing at me, both Billy and Harry shaking their heads as I took a step forward. "How _could_ you?"

"What did I do?" she asked, eyes wide as she tried to figure out why I was angry.

"You know what you did, you ch—," I was cut off as soon as I felt a hand on my shoulder and I turned to see Sam looking at me with intensity in his eyes.

"No, Bella," he said, his tone full of authority.

Glaring up at him with my hands balled into fists, I had to fight back the growl that threatened to spill over my lips and instead I turned around, shoulder-checking the Alpha as I stormed out of the house. The minute my feet hit the soft soil of the ground, I was running to the trees, the anger coursing through my veins almost too much for me to handle.

I needed out of there, I needed to be away from the woman who had lied to me my entire life. I needed away.

I wasn't sure how long I had ran, how far I had gone, but I did know one thing; I was still in my human form as I stopped by this secluded waterfall, the water falling the only thing that filled the air. Other than my loud, boisterous thoughts.

There was really nothing running through my mind, save for the expletives I wanted to call my mother but knew I couldn't, not when Sam had pretty much forbid me from talking to her about her infidelity. Why couldn't I? It had to do with me, didn't it? I was the result of her cheating and yet she told Charlie that I was _his_? I didn't understand it and, as I moved to sit on one of the rocks that surrounded the lake, I heard footsteps.

"If you're coming here to yell at me, I won't have it," I said out loud, knowing that whoever it was could most likely hear me.

"What if I was coming to eat you?" a familiar female voice sounded out with a chuckle before I turned to see Leah walking towards me, a playful smile on her lips. "That was pretty much an invitation to a vampire, Bella."

I rolled my eyes and looked towards the waterfall. "Sue me," I said before I sighed, waiting until Leah was sitting next to me. "It's just…I can't believe it, you know. I mean, I knew there was a possibility that I was a child of…well…but I didn't think my mom could actually do that."

"They were drunk," Leah said with a shrug. "I'm not saying that gives them the right or anything, because it doesn't, but people do shitty things when they're drunk. Or even sober. Some people just do stupid things period."

I glanced over at her. "Are you one of those people?" I asked, wondering if she was talking about the kiss we had. Or almost kiss. We had almost kissed, more than we had the other time, but the only thing that happened was our lips touching.

Leah was silent for a moment, her hands wringing together before she looked at me, a small smile playing on her lips. "I'd like to think I'm not."

"So…you really did mean it, then?" I asked, looking back at her. "The whole…uh…you know?" It was hard to admit that I was talking about the kiss that happened because what if she didn't mean it? What if it was just a fluke? What if I was just fooling myself? I don't think I could be able to handle that so instead I swallowed the lump of nerves in my throat before shifting my gaze to the waterfall, focusing on the sound of the water falling into the lake below.

"Bella," Leah's voice broke my concentration on not thinking about the kiss and I was immediately thinking about it once more, especially as I turned to look back at her, my gaze first stopping at her lips before I looked into her warm brown eyes. "If you're trying to ask me if I really did mean to kiss you, you're doing a horrible job at it."

My cheeks flushed and I bit my bottom lip as I looked away, embarrassed that I was so transparent. Sure, I wanted to know, but I was trying to be sneaky about it…though I guess sneaky was definitely out of the question. "Oh…" was all I could think of before I cleared my throat. "Well, I didn't know…because you dated Sam…"

"It's called being bisexual, Bella," Leah said, nudging me lightly so that I would look at her and, when I did, I saw a small smile playing on her lips. "It means I'm attracted to guys and girls."

"But I didn't know that."

"Because I never advertised it," Leah said before shrugging. "People don't need to know every little detail about my life. As far as I'm concerned…they don't need to know my sexuality unless I want them to, you know?" Chuckling lightly, Leah shook her head before she spoke low under her breath. "Yeah, I did mean to."

The words caught me off-guard and I turned to look at her to see that Leah was…blushing? No, that couldn't be right. She couldn't be blushing.

But she was; her bottom lip was taken in between her teeth and she looked at me before she chuckled. "I know it's stupid for crushing on a straight girl, but for a minute there I thought you really were going to kiss me back…maybe I'm just kidding myself."

"You're not," I said simply before turning to look at her. "Kidding yourself…I'm not…I'm not straight," I said, knowing that that was the first time I said those words out loud. Embry had guessed and I had never really told Alice and yet here I was…telling Leah.

"So you really were going to kiss me back?" Leah whispered, gaze flickering to my lips before she looked back into my eyes. She leaned in lightly and the sound of my heartbeat was almost magnified and as I felt myself lean in closer, too.

All I could do was nod before my lips were on hers and we kissed, slowly but surely. There was no interruption, no Seth running in to make us pull away hastily, and I could feel my heart practically stop as Leah's hand came up to cup my cheek as she scooted in an inch closer, our knees brushing as she parted her lips to deepen the kiss.

Breathing in through my nose, I was all for reciprocating it before I heard a slow sound of applause coming from behind me. Leah must've heard it too as she froze before we both turned to see a man dressed in jeans that were cut at the knees and an old worn leather jacket that was open to reveal his chest and his stomach, the little sunlight that peeked through the clouds causing it to almost shine.

And it was in that moment that I caught the whiff of a familiar yet nauseating scent.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: ...I love cliff-hangers, okay? Can you guess who this familiar yet nauseating scent belongs too?**

**But did anyone else figure out that it was Quil's father that's Bella's father? No? Good. As for Embry's father, his dad is a Quileute man none of us have met in the books or in the story; I figured it would make sense because Taha Aki would have many different descendants by now, so any one of them could be his father, it didn't necessarily have to be Billy, Joshua or Quil.**

**Anyway, tell me what you think of this chapter and of the kiss that actually happened this go around. I just felt like it was time to give those girls a break.**


	20. Chapter 20

**The Twilight Saga is the rightful property of Stephenie Meyer. I only take credit for my own ideas.**

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><p><strong>Chapter Twenty<strong>

There was no mistaking it that the man that was slowly walking towards us was a vampire; the way he moved and the way the sun seemed to shine off of his pale skin made it painstakingly obvious. And then, there were his eyes; red as blood as they seemed to shine with a mischievous glint to them.

"I do love happy endings," he spoke, still clapping as she continued to walk forward slowly, stopping when he was a good yard away. "But to me, happy endings are a little cliché. Me? I prefer stories that end in bloodshed. Wouldn't you agree, Victoria?"

My eyes widened as I realized that there was another vampire around, hearing a small, bubble-gum like laughter coming from behind me, and I turned around to expect a child but only found a smirking red-head with red eyes to match. "Of course you know I do, James," she spoke as crossed her arms. "What's a good story without a little bloodshed?"

Leah stood up slowly, her fists clenched and her jaw tight as she looked between both of the vampires. "You might want to leave…you've made a really big mistake interrupting us."

Victoria only cackled as James gasped in mock surprise. "Oh, she thinks she can take us on? Poor, delusional thing," James said before smirking. "You've made a really big mistake to underestimate us, young one."

"I like them feisty," Victoria called out from the other side of the clearing and as I looked at her, she was once again smirking. Then, within a blink of an eye, she was at James' side, one arm draped over his shoulders as her other teased his abdominal muscles. "James…can I have the one that fights back? Please?"

"Now where would be the fun in that, Vic? You know how much I love a good fight," James murmured, looking into Victoria's eyes.

"I know something else you like more," Victoria said before she started to whisper into his ear some not so PG rated things into his ear.

While the two of them seemed to be flirting with one another, Leah looked over at me. "Bella, go and tell the others as fast as you can. I'll try and hold them off until then."

"What? Are you crazy? There are two of them. You can't take them both on and we have no idea if they're…you know, gifted," I whispered back, knowing that it was probably pointless with our enemies being vampires. "You need me here. If we both fight, we both have a chance to survive."

"I won't risk losing you," Leah said, her voice low as she looked me in the eye.

"Neither will I," I whispered back, swallowing the lump in my throat before I heard Victoria laugh once again.

"They must know they're about to die…saying their final goodbyes. Isn't it sweet?" Victoria asked as she moved away from James.

James, however, only rolled his eyes. "I hate sweet," he said before he smirked and started to run towards us, Victoria on his tail.

Leah looked at me and we both nodded and soon enough we were running towards them which, of course, caused the two vampires to stop and raise their eyebrows in surprise.

"Why would you not try to run?" James asked before Leah collided against him and I was soon doing the same to Victoria, knocking them to the ground.

"Now, Bella!" Leah yelled, starting to run off towards the trees. I went to do the same, only I couldn't as I felt a vice grip on my ankles, making me hit the ground on my knees.

"Not so fast, you little bitch," Victoria hissed at me as she hovered over me. "Maybe I should play with you a little bit before I kill you. I know my mother always taught me not to play with my food…but it's always been so much fun."

I only glared at her before I rolled us over so that I was on top of her, getting angrier and angrier by the second as I watched James tackle Leah to the ground. It was in that moment that I could tell I was getting bigger and stronger by the second, my paws now digging into Victoria's chest and with a growl I was running, straight towards James.

"James! Wolves! They're wolves!" Victoria yelled out, her voice both a mixture of worry and surprise.

James turned around to look at me just as I had bridged most of the gap between us, my teeth bared as I dug my claws into the soft soil, and he only seemed to smirk once more. "I do love a challenge," he insisted once more before his fist collided with my nose, sending me flying back towards the trees, breaking one.

_Shit,_ I thought, whining before I heard a voice in my head.

_Bella, what's going on? _Sam asked. _Was that a tree I heard fall?_

_Uh…yeah…Leah and I encountered some vampires, _I thought before the events that played out prior to James entering the clearing showed in my head. _We're doing good though!_

It was in that moment that Leah had shifted as well and she was chasing after James, who was now running towards me as I lie on the ground, trying to get my bearings after being chucked through the clearing. And it was obvious that Leah wasn't going to get him in time as he ran towards me.

Then, out of nowhere, another figure entered the clearing and knocked the blonde vampire away from his destination and into a tree, making another one fall in the clearing. Only this time it landed on my back leg and I whined in pain as I tried to get it off, all the while trying to figure out what, or who, the figure was and my eyes widened in surprise.

There, standing in front of a James with his eyes narrowed, was Edward, his fists clenched in anger. "Leave before I kill you," he hissed out at the blonde vampire, hovering over him as he gathered his bearings.

"Ha," James laughed as he stood up, wiping some dirt from his face. "You and what army, punk?"

Suddenly, two other figures joined Edward, one taller and the other shorter, and almost immediately I knew who it was. Emmett had his arms crossed nonchalantly but I could tell by the way his muscles rolled that he was ready for any kind of fight at any moment, and Alice stood next to Edward, glaring at James.

James only seemed to laugh at this before Victoria came to his side, her hand on his shoulder. "James, we should go… we don't stand a chance," she murmured and James looked at him before nodding and, suddenly, the two of them were gone.

"Make sure they actually leave the state," Alice said to her brothers and they nodded in agreement before running after them.

Turning to me slowly, Alice looked at me with a small apologetic look and she quickly rushed over to move the tree off of my leg, though it only seemed to make the pain worse.

_I'm on my way, Bella, _Sam sounded in my head before I watched as Leah walked towards me slowly, whining as she eyed my leg.

_That doesn't look good, Bella, _she said as she looked me in my eyes. _How bad are you hurt?_

_Bad enough, _I sounded with a small whine as I looked at Alice who seemed to be checking my leg.

"It would be easier if you were in your human form…but to me it looks like your bones might be setting the wrong way…" Alice said before looking over at me and then at Leah. "Bring her to the house and Carlisle can reset the bones…I figured you'd want to make sure that she had clothes on before she came by."

Leah was shocked at first before she nodded and, after nodding in return, Alice fled the scene as well.

_Well she seemed friendly,_ Leah thought before she sat down and rested her head on her paws, looking into my eyes as she waited for Sam to arrive.

When he did, though, it was surprising to see that he had actually brought clothes with him, and not just his own; he brought two other sets (probably Quil and Jake's, I assumed) and he looked between us.

_How'd you manage to get away practically unscathed? _Sam asked, mainly directed at Leah.

_The Cullens…they stepped in and helped us, _Leah said, obviously noting the way Sam seemed surprised by this information.

He nodded as he looked around the clearing. _I thought I smelled more than two vampires, _he thought before he turned to his back legs and pulled the clothes from their confines before handing them to us. _Since you destroyed your own…I know they're guys clothes but you probably won't wear them long anyway._

_Yeah, we have to go to the Cullens house to get Bella's leg looked at._

I had almost forgotten that my leg was broken but as soon as Leah mentioned it, another whine escaped my muzzle.

_You should probably get her there as soon as you can, _Sam thought before he looked around once more, assessing the scene. _Do you know what they wanted?_

_Our blood. They love a challenge, apparently, _Leah thought sarcastically, rolling one of her eyes before she turned to me. _Come on Bella, get changed and I'll carry you._

I nodded and shifted into my human form as soon as I could, the pain making it harder and as soon as I was in my skin I was cradling my leg, pulling it closer to me, though it only made it worse. Leah was soon by my side, handing me a set of shorts and a baggy t-shirt and I put them on the best I could before she lifted me into her arms and we were on our way to the Cullen house.

I wasn't sure which was worse; the smell of the vampires or the pain that was shooting through my leg. Either way, my face contorted into an expression of pain and I had to fight myself from gagging as Leah walked over the threshold of the Cullen house, looking around as if to search out for Carlisle even without looking at the vampires that were congregating to the front of the house. Rosalie and Jasper stood by the steps, their expressions wary (though Rosalie was glaring), and another blonde hovered behind them.

It was hard to see everyone, especially since I was starting to get light-headed and everything, but eventually Alice walked in with Carlisle, his expression concerned as he looked at my leg.

"You're right Alice…it does look like it set incorrectly," he said before I felt his cold hands touch my skin and I instinctively flinched from the touch, both trying to get away from the cold and the vampire in itself.

Of course, that only made the pain worse and I let out a small, albeit loud, scream and I tried to clutch my leg but it was nearly impossible from my position in Leah's arms to do so. Still, that didn't stop Carlisle from looking even more concerned and he moved out of the way and gestured to the stairs.

"I suggest we go on up to my study…I've made an impromptu hospital bed for you as I'm sure you do not want to be holding her as I reset her leg," he said before glancing at me. "I truly am sorry for what you had to go through…the nomads could probably smell us in the area and decided to move in closer, only to smell your scents and, unlike we are to you, you smell human to us and, therefore, they were probably looking for a quick meal."

"Wait…so you didn't know them?" Leah asked as she started to follow him, Alice trailing behind me and, as I peeked over Leah's shoulder, I saw the shorter girl smile kindly in my direction.

"No…we didn't…"

Alice skipped forward and opened the door for Leah and Carlisle before she looked back at us. "I had seen them getting closer to Forks in my visions and I knew that they might've run across our scents, but I hadn't forseen them coming any closer…Edward was the one who had heard their thoughts and he knew that you two were there."

Leah pursed her lips and paused. "You know we're not going to thank you, right? We would've been fine."

The rest of the conversation seemed to be muted, at least to me, as I felt a somewhat searing pain in my leg as Carlisle reset my bones, but whatever it was, it seemed like, to me, Leah and Alice were having a playful argument.

_They're flirting,_ my mind raced and I had to clench my jaw to get my mind off of the pain that coursed through me. By the time my bones had healed correctly and in the right position, the sun was starting to move down the sky and towards the horizon so I knew my parents were probably wondering where I was.

"Come on, Bella…you can spend the night at my place," Leah said as she offered me a weak smile.

But it was in that moment when I heard the sound of a wolf howling low, the sound Leah and I both knew belonged to Sam. And whatever it was he wanted, it wasn't good.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Yeah, I know. Again it takes me forever but hey, guess what? I have found my writing bug and actually felt like putting my pen to paper (...or fingers to keyboard; you get what I mean). Anyway, I hope this chapter satisfies you, as it brings in the potential for *gasp* more drama!**

**That being said and done...next chapter? Leah and Bella have a bit of a difficult conversation to have.**


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